TIAN Contemporain is pleased to present Holding Traces, a group exhibition featuring the works of Sarah Bertrand-Hamel, Mylène Boisvert, and Ingrid Syage Tremblay. Through meticulous handwork and material experimentation, these artists explore paper and textiles as living materials shaped by memory, transformation, and care. Their chosen medium of paper acts not only as a surface, but as a fibre with its own histories—woven through domestic spaces, plant life, gestures of making, and acts of renewal. Their practices invite viewers to consider how fragile materials can carry collective narratives, preserve traces of lived experience, and embody the continuous cycles of change that connect people, place, and the natural world.

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Sarah Bertrand-Hamel (born 1981) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Université Laval and a Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University. Her work has been exhibited across Canada and internationally, including in Japan, where she studied traditional Japanese papermaking through two artist residencies. Her work is held in public and private collections, including those of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and the National Museum of Ceramics in Mexico. Sarah Bertrand-Hamel lives and works in Montréal.

Mylène Boisvert (born 1971) holds a Master of Fine Arts in Fibres and Material Practices and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from Concordia University. Her recent exhibitions include Stewart Hall Art Gallery, the Centre des textiles contemporains de Montréal, and Galerie McClure. Her work is held in public collections, including those of the City of Pointe-Claire, Idea Exchange (Cambridge, Ontario), and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.

Ingrid Syage Tremblay (born 1984) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University and a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Texas at Austin. She recently showcased her work at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston), CIRCA art actuel (Montréal), Apexart (New York), and the Grand Palais Éphémère (Paris). Her work is held in the collections of the City of Montréal, the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center (United States), and private collections. She lives and works in Montréal.​