Spotlight:Anja Studer

Vanishing North by Anja Studer

Anja’s mixed media paintings – featuring beautiful abstract watercolour washes enriched with details in ink, acrylic, 18k gold and graphite – loosely evoke the Canadian landscape.  By illustrating wildlife through the medium of graphite, she reinforces the fragility of our ecosystem and the very real threats of extinction through habitat loss.

Her paintings are accompanied by an edition of papercuts inspired by the traditional Swiss artform.  This delicate medium utilizes the concept of patterns unravelling into lines to echo the message of wildlife extinction.

The series “The Vanishing North” is part of the larger body of work “The Ghosts We Create”, conceived during the summer of 2023 at the Venezia Contemporanea Residencies Program in Venice, Italy.  In exploring the urgent environmental challenges faced by Canadian wildlife, the artist continues to use her work to raise awareness about climate change, urging action to protect our wildlife before more species vanish.

Anja was born and raised in Switzerland and became an environmental activist at a very young age.  She studied fine arts at the Ecole de design and haute ecole d’art du Valais in Switzerland.  She continued her studies at both the University of Manitoba and Red River College.  She resides in Winnipeg, MB and continues to create, exhibit and sell her art in Europe and North America.

The artist will be in the gallery from 1pm – 3pm, Saturday, February 8 and 22 demonstrating her papercut technique.