A fresh canvas, artist Zoë Pawlak opens Point Grey studio

Vancouver artist and designer Zoë Pawlak's change of surroundings coincides with a shift in Pawlak's artistic direction. Her newest collection, Under This Strange Sun, comprises six paintings created for the inaugural soft opening of the new Poltrona Frau flagship store in Vancouver. Photo by Yohan Kim

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In Vancouver’s Point Grey neighbourhood, artist and industrial designer Zoë Pawlak has opened a new creative space, welcoming visitors for coffee, conversation and a closer look at her work.

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After five years in the city’s Armoury District, Pawlak has moved her practice to a quieter, street-level studio, where familiar faces regularly stop by and informal tours offer a chance to discover the stories behind her paintings.

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This move marks a fresh chapter for the Vancouver artist, who is celebrating 20 years as a full-time creative professional.

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“I am now situated in an area that is both commercial and surrounded by a few beautiful neighbourhoods. It’s walkable, so I have noticed that many of my past clients, colleagues and acquaintances walk by, pop in and say hello,” she says.

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The new space offers a balance of accessibility and privacy, allowing Pawlak to connect with her community while making time for the focused work her practice demands.

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The change of surroundings coincides with a shift in Pawlak’s artistic direction. Her newest collection, Under This Strange Sun, comprises six paintings created for the inaugural soft opening of the new Poltrona Frau flagship store in Vancouver.

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This collection explores a more fully abstract language of colour, light and atmosphere. “I spent the summer observing and recording the sun at dawn and dusk, fascinated by the haunting, ethereal beauty of the skies and how different they feel from those clear skies of our childhoods,” she says.

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The new studio is also part of a broader change in how Pawlak approaches her working life.

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Last winter, she decided to give up the larger gallery and studio space she’d maintained for years, reducing overhead and giving herself more freedom to pursue opportunities beyond Vancouver.

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That flexibility has already taken her to Los Angeles, where she developed a new body of work at Thomas Hayes Studio, to Baja for a collaboration at Dome Home and to New Mexico, where she taught at Ghost Ranch.

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H Clipse by Zoë Pawlak explores luminous shades of orange, yellow and pink. Photo by Zoë Pawlak

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“Also, my children are now grown (18 and 20), so I’m more free to look around at what’s next,” she says.

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It’s a shift she welcomes as she reaches an important career milestone. “I feel very much mid-career, which is a wonderful position to be in. You have enough experience to be respected and are also young enough to have the ability to be sharp and innovate,” she says.

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Over the past 20 years, Pawlak has established herself as an artist whose curiosity extends well beyond painting. Her distinctive use of colour and form has translated into furniture, rugs, mirrors and sculpture, often through collaborations with designers and skilled craftspeople.

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Working with Vancouver designer Jeff Martin, she created hand-painted furniture, some of which was purchased by the Canadian government for use internationally.