M.E. Sparks (she/her) is an artist and educator based in Winnipeg, Treaty 1 Territory, Canada. In recent work Sparks uses painting and collage to examine the relationships between surface and image, materiality and content, legibility and disorientation. In her paintings she pulls apart and recombines art historical imagery, searching for the moment a form dislocates from its origins to resist classification. Recently, this method of abstraction occurs through the cutting, draping, and layering of painted canvas. By reconsidering the conventions of painting, Sparks searches for uncertain and unsettled spaces of representation, as well as the reconciliation and transformation of historical narrative.

Sparks received her MFA from Emily Carr University and BFA from NSCAD University. She is a recipient of project and research grants from Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council, Winnipeg Arts Council and BC Arts Council. She has participated in international residencies in Germany, Finland and the USA, including NARS Foundation and Vermont Studio Center, and was a 2016 and 2017 finalist in the RBC Canadian Painting Competition. Sparks’ work has been exhibited at Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art (North Vancouver), Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art (Kelowna), Trapp Projects (Vancouver), Access Gallery (Vancouver), among others. Upcoming projects include a solo exhibition at aceartinc (Winnipeg) in 2025.