Rooted in Steel – Mona Rutenberg

Melt Studio + Gallery presents Rooted In Steel, a solo show by Montreal Artist Mona Rutenberg.

Artist Reception Saturday July 11th, 2026 from 1-4 PM. Artist Talk at 1:30 PM. On exhibition July 9th-August 2nd, 2026.

‘I discovered my passion for working with steel after gifting myself a five-day welding class on my 50th birthday. After more than thirty years as an art therapist, I shifted my focus to full-time sculpture, working in a studio filled with metal fragments gathered from scrap yards, roadsides, and dismantled basements.

My connection to this medium is deeply personal. My father owned a large used machinery company, and childhood visits to his office embedded the smells, textures, and visual language of industrial spaces into my memory. Working with salvaged steel allows me to reconnect with his influence and the significance of our relationship.

I am drawn to both the form and the history of the objects I incorporate into my sculptures. I often wonder whose hands once held them, what purpose they served, where they were abandoned, and how time and nature continue to transform them.

Some narratives emerge intuitively, while others evolve through explorations of transformation, grief, time, industrialization, and the resilience of nature.’ – Mona Rutenberg

Also on exhibition at Melt Studio + Gallery:

Immersive Journeys: Hand Hooked Land Stories by Valerie Carew

In this captivating exhibition by Canadian interdisciplinary artist Valerie Carew, the artist works with body-based fibre sculpture, photography, performance, and painting, transforming the traditional craft of hand-hooked rug making into extraordinary wearable sculptures and immersive landscapes. Drawing inspiration from her family’s Newfoundland and New Brunswick roots, her work explores connections between land, memory, identity, and belonging.

Immersive Journeys: Hand Hooked Land Stories is an invitation to wander through imagined landscapes, reconnect with the natural world, and experience the body as something alive, wild, and ever-changing.

Opening reception with Artist in Attendance: Saturday July 4th, 2026 from 1-4 PM. On exhibition in the Format Gallery, July 2nd-26th, 2026.

What Lies Beneath – Solo Show by Pamela Tate

Inspired by the hidden systems that shape both the natural world and our inner lives, Pamela Tate’s intuitive mixed-media paintings explore layers of revelation, concealment, and discovery. Drawing on reflections sparked by a recent journey to Iceland, Tate’s work invites viewers to consider what exists beneath the surface—within landscapes, within relationships, and within ourselves. Through a process of building, excavating, covering, and uncovering, each painting becomes a meditation on transformation and truth.

Opening reception with Artist in Attendance: Saturday July 4th, 2026 from 1-4 PM.  On exhibition in the Focus Gallery July 2nd-26th, 2026.

Gallery hours: Open Thursdays-Sundays, noon-5 PM.

343 County Road 22, Barrack 3 at Base31, Picton | meltstudiogallery.com