Shannon Pawliw (she/her) is a Canadian artist working in abstract painting and conceptual installation. Her work is colourful, immersive, bold and rooted in organic forms and gestures.
Pawliw undertakes exploratory series with the explicit intent of creating fantasy-based objects built around ideas, practices, and concepts that fascinate her. These ideas and concepts are as diverse as time, memory, artistic labour and the microbial world. At its root, all of the work shares a tendency to observe, romanticize, and fantasize about different aspects of our shared humanity and experience.
She is also the Artistic Director and founder of THIS Gallery, a brick-and-mortar arts space located in Vancouver, Canada, where artists and curators gather to engage with the community through exhibitions and events.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Fine Art, Concordia University, Montreal (2002)
EXHIBITIONS
2024 – Vancouver Civic Theatres | Queen Elizabeth Theatre | Vancouver, BC
2023 – THIS Gallery | solo exhibition | Vancouver, BC
2022 – NEXT | Alternative Creations Gallery (Eastside Culture Crawl) | group exhibit | Vancouver, BC
2022 – Watershed | THIS Gallery | solo exhibition – installation and painting | Vancouver, BC
2021 – On the Edge | Federation Gallery | group exhibit – painting | Vancouver, BC
2021 – Microscapes | Gibsons Public Art Gallery | solo exhibit – sculpture and painting | Gibsons, BC
2020 – Anti-Social | Yactac | virtual group exhibition – painting | Online Only (Covid-19 Lockdown)
2016 – Every Place I’ve Ever Lived | Stretch Vancouver | solo exhibit – painting | Vancouver, BC
2015 – Art at the Manor | Stanley Park Manor | group exhibit | Vancouver, BC
2004 – Mouth To Mouth | AKA Artist Run Centre | solo exhibit | Saskatoon, SK
2003 to present – An Archive of Lost Things | online exhibit – anarchiveoflostthings.com
2002 – Dust | Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery | undergraduate group exhibit | Montreal, PQ
2002 – Mills Purchase Prize recipients exhibit | Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery | Montreal, PQ
2002 – REaD | Sandra Goldie Gallery | group exhibit | Montreal, PQ
2002 – Let’s Have a Dream, Piece to Peace | S.P.I.N. Gallery | charity art auction organized by Tomo Lennon and Yoko Ono | Toronto, ON
2002 – Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition | Toronto, ON
2002 – FED | Cafe Vienne | group exhibit | Montreal, PQ
2002 – Pretty Stories | Gallery 1849 | solo exhibit | Montreal, PQ
2002 – Gallery 1849 | curatorial gallery project | Montreal, PQ
2001 – Domestic Monuments | Concordia VAV Gallery | group exhibit curated by Marisa Portolese and Geneviève Cadieux | Montreal, PQ
2001 – Hotel Project | Room 1011, Holiday Inn Hotel | collaborative, site-specific installation with Jeanie Riddle | Montreal, QC
2001 – This is. | Concordia VAV Gallery | solo exhibit | with Jennifer Lefort | Montreal, PQ
2000 – LEAP | Find Me Someone to Love | Belgo Building | group exhibit | Montreal, PQ
1999 – Community Arts Council Gallery | solo exhibit – painting | Victoria, BC
AWARDS, GRANTS, AND PRIZES
Long-listed for the Jackson’s Painting Prize | 2021
Long-listed for the Jackson’s Painting Prize | 2020
First Runner Up in Moleskine Asia Illustration Competition | 2007
Saskatchewan Arts Board Grant | 2006
Mills Purchase Prize | Dust | 2002
Derek C. Hannaford Scholarship | 2002
DuMaurier Art Production Grant | An Archive of Lost Things | 2001
Shannon Pawliw makes art, but she is also a graphic designer. To see some of her design work visit mightysparrow.ca
For inquiries regarding purchase or rental of any of the works shown, please email hello@shannonpawliw.com
Several pieces are also available through my online store.
© Copyright Shannon Pawliw - All rights reserved.