Spencer Magnan’s practice is undefined; his work is formed from spontaneity and reaction. Working freely across mediums, Magnan chooses to not define his practice as a way to find liberation within certain systems. He believes that each work of art has its own voice and form, and needs to be expressed authentically.
Magnan’s work is a process of self-honouring as a way to celebrate and analyze the parts of himself. Taking full authority of his own work, he is able to push himself to make something beyond his own expectations. Being surveilled by society and excluded from certain spaces has caused him to hyper-analyze himself from his internal thoughts to his bodily actions within a space. His artwork is a way of reclaiming past experiences or sentiments and using them to evolve himself, and potentially the viewer as well.
For Magnan,working without defining oneself frees him from having to conform to set expectations - his work is thus introspective and self-reflective. Queerness in our North American society, and the passage of time are topics which appear in his work.Spencer is also interested in representing aspects of intimacy, proximity, and the loss of definition.
Spencer Magnan is an artist originally from Orillia, Ontario, now living full-time in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. He holds a BFA from Concordia university (2023).Working across disciplines he moves between painting, installation, and performance He has exhibited at notable art galleries across Ontario and Quebec such as Art Mûr in Montreal and the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie, and his work can be found in private collections in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
