MEHEL

Biography Dynamic abstractions with sleek lines, these carefully constructed works draw on the spirit of Asian art. Notably exploring the principle of vacuum and profoundly influenced by Ikebana (the art of floral composition), Mehel expressed her humanist convictions through the symbolic power and the peace that emerge from contrasting, alternating shades of white, black and exuberant red. Born onboard a ship, Mehel has pursued a lifelong voyage that has brought from a training at the Haddad Workshop and the Fine Arts Museum of Algers, on an exploration. Her travels have taken her from the Bigazzi workshop in Florence where she studied Florentin art, to Tokyo, where she studied ikebana at the Shibuya School and sculpture at the Luna Flora Floral School in Junco Hitomi. In Montreal, she trained in ceramics with Eva Lapka, of Vera Vincente, and glass-casting with Annick Nabot. These two techniques, combined with oil paint, are her mediums of choice. Her constantly evolving creative career spans forty years. She has participated in solo and group expositions in Montreal, Trois Rivieres, Boston, Paris, Algiers, Tunis and Tokyo. Many of her works are in private collections in Algeria, Canada, France and Japan and some have received awards: 2005 and 2006, the Levant, in Montreal.