Michelle Paterok

b. 1994, Edmonton, AB.
Based in Montreal, QC.

My interest in painting’s capacity to represent subjective experiences is the foundation of my studio practice. My current work is grounded in the following questions: How is space experienced subjectively, and how are these experiences reconstructed in our memories? How might time’s passage be expressed in the static frame of a painting? Finally, what role might painting have to play in addressing the environmental urgencies of the present moment? With these in mind, I use the medium to mine the poetics of small gestures and encounters in daily life.

Contact: paterokmichelle@gmail.com

Education
2022: MFA Visual Art, Western University, London, Canada
2016: BFA Art and Design, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
2013: Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan (Japanese language course)

Solo and Two Person Exhibitions
2025: SHRINE, New York, NY (forthcoming)
2024: Quiet Light, Duran Mashaal Gallery, Montreal, QC
2023: To Neither Quite Belonging, Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON
2022: At Dusk, McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, ON
2021: Night on Earth, Satellite Project Space, London, ON
2020: Darkness, Light, Wind then Silence
in collaboration with Tomo Endo, Kosho Temple, Himi, Japan
2018: Unauthorized, Vorres Museum, Paiania, Greece (curated by Caterina Pizanias)

Selected Group Exhibitions
2024: Où Nous (En) Sommes, Duran Contemporain, Montreal, QC
2024: Hope Bites, SHRINE, New York, NY
2024: Summer Salon, Duran Mashaal Gallery, Montreal, QC
2023: Winter Salon, Dianna Witte Gallery, Toronto, ON
2023: Imbolc, Purslane Art (online)
2022: betwixt and between, Project Gallery V, Brooklyn, NY (online)
2021: Distance Makes the Heart Grow Weak, ArtLAB Gallery, Western University, London, ON
2020: Be Here, Be There, Forest City Gallery, London, ON
2020: Nengajo-ten, Nanto Fukumitsu Art Museum, Nanto, Japan
2019: The Art Thing, HOUSEHOLD Gallery, Himi, Japan
2019: Copper Prints, Mikando Gallery, Tonami, Japan
2017: Schmoozy, Latitude 53, Edmonton, AB
2016: Denouement, Fine Arts Building Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2016: Fresh Prints, SNAP Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2016: Annotations, Rutherford Atrium, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

Scholarships and Awards
2023: London Arts Council CAIP Grant, London, ON
2023: Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Montreal, QC
2023: Ontario Arts Council Visual Arts Creation Project Grant, Toronto, ON
2021: SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master’s Scholarship, Western University
2020: Alberta Foundation for the Arts Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Grant, Edmonton, AB
2020: Chair’s Entrance Scholarship, Western University
2020: Graduate Research Scholarship, Western University
2018: Alberta Foundation for the Arts Visual Arts and New Media Individual Project Grant, Edmonton, AB
2018: Edmonton Arts Council CIP Travel Grant, Edmonton, AB
2016: Samuel James and Augusta Kreye Deans Award in Art & Design, University of Alberta
2016: Nomination for BMO 1st Art! Invitational Student Art Competition, University of Alberta
2015: Elizabeth Ann Burgess Award in Contemporary Art, University of Alberta
2015: Roger S. Smith Undergraduate Research Award, University of Alberta
2013-15: Jason Lang Scholarship, University of Alberta
2013: The Prince Takamado Japan Canada Memorial Fund Travel Award, University of Alberta

Residencies
2025: Pouch Cove Foundation, Pouch Cove, NL
2023: Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2018: Vorres Museum Residency, Paiania, Greece

Art Fairs
2025: Future Fair, New York, NY (with Duran Contemporain, forthcoming)
2024: Plural, Montreal, QC (with Duran Mashaal Gallery)
2023: UNTAPPED, Artist Project Toronto, Toronto, ON

Professional/Volunteer Activity
2021-22: Teaching Assistant, Intermediate and Advanced Print Media, Western University, London, ON
2021-22: Treasurer, Visual Arts Graduate Students’ Association, Western University, London, ON
2020-21: Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Print Media, Western University, London, ON
2020: Research Assistant, McIntosh Gallery, Western University, London, ON
2018-20: Assistant Language Teacher through the JET Programme, Toyama Prefectural Board of Education, Toyama, Japan
2015: Program Volunteer, E4C's ArtStart, Edmonton, AB
2015-16: Vice President Internal, University of Alberta Visual Arts Students' Association
2014: Student Representative, University of Alberta Visual Arts Students' Association

Bibliography
“An Interview with Michelle Paterok," Formation Art, November 12, 2024
“Memory and Place: In Conversation with Michelle Paterok,” Adi Berardini, Femme Art Review, May 24, 2021
“Denouement,” Brenley Charkow, Curious Arts Magazine, April 2016

Publications/Catalogues
2024: Yolk Literary Journal, Cover Art, Volume 4.1, November 2024
2024: ArtMaze Magazine, Issue 37, March 2024
2023: “Family Doctors’ Burnout is about More than Their Workload,” The Walrus, February 8, 2024
2023: Tomorrow’s Talent III, Booooooom!, July 2023
2022: ArtMaze Magazine, Issue 28, May 2022
2021: The Walrus, Special Winter Edition, December 22, 2021
2021: Distance Makes the Heart Grow Weak Exhibition Catalogue, ArtLAB Gallery, Western University, January 2020
2016: Denouement Exhibition Catalogue, FAB Gallery, University of Alberta, April 2016
2015: Annotations Exhibition Catalogue and Collaborative Criticisms, Department of Art and Design, University of Alberta, March 2016