Veronika Szkudlarek (sh-kood-lā-rek) makes paintings, drawings and animations that use abstraction and gesture to examine form and color. The physical qualities of paint —its imperfections, clumps, wetness, marks— function as material disruptors that resist control. Grounded in intuition, her work unfolds without preparatory drafts, having the marks on the surface generate ideas for the next ones. Attentive to color relativity, her work emphasizes how even subtle color changes shifts in relation to one another. Her earth-tone pink palette draws on ancient and women’s histories, like clay fertility symbols, connecting the color to a broader sense of shared human experience. This is contrasted with fragmented forms—such as inflatable dolls, intestinal shapes, My Little Pony’s, plastic bags, and babushka dolls— playfully layering personal and cultural references. Szkudlarek’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Queens Museum and KCAI: Centre for Contemporary Practices, and presented at institutions like NSCAD University, Columbia University, and the FATE Biennale. Gary Michael Dault of The Globe and Mail wrote that “artist Veronika Szkudlarek has already chalked up enough experiences to fuel a dozen careers in painting.” Her solo exhibition Lion Mouse in Toronto was highlighted as a must-see art event, as was her solo Painted Hybrids exhibited in Warsaw. She is the recipient of the Outstanding Merit Award from Pratt Institute and the OCAD University Faculty of Art Teaching Award, and has received multiple E-campus Ontario and Canada Foundation for Innovation research grants, as well as Seed funding, and was shortlisted for the BLG Equity Award. Her work has been featured in The Global Television Network, CTV News, and she has given artist talks and lectures in cities like New York City, Kigali, Jerusalem, Kansas City, Cairo, Oman, and Montreal. Raised in a Polish immigrant household in Canada, Szkudlarek now lives and works in New York City.
Szkudlarek is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Art at OCAD University.
EDUCATION
2010 MFA with Distinction & Honors, Painting, Pratt Institute, New York, NY, USA
2006 BFA with Honors, Studio Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
AWARDS, RESEARCH GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS AND DISTINCTIONS
2026 Recipient of the 2025-26 Price Award for Leadership in Teaching, Toronto Canada
2025 Shortlisted for 2024/2025 OCAD University Award for Excellence in Early-Stage Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity
2025 Professional Development Fund Opportunity, Experimental Animation
2024 Shortlisted for 2023/2024 OCAD University Award for Excellence in Early-Stage Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity
2024 $3,000 OCAD University SSHRC Explore Research Seed Grant
2024 $5,000 OCAD university SSHRC Exchange Research Seed Grant
2024 Shortlisted for the Price Award, Tenure/Tenure-Track Excellence in Teaching
2023 TERF Award, Experimental Animation, OCADU
2023 Nominated for 2022/2023 OCAD University Award for Excellence in Early-Stage Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity
2023 $111,432 CFI / JELF Recipient - Mobile Projection Mapping and Communities: Reinforcing Diversity and Cultural Heritage through Urban Artistic Projects, Research Grant
2022 Shortlisted for the Price Award, Tenure/Tenure-Track Excellence in Teaching, OCADU
2021 $89, 325 Ecampus Ontario Grant, Research Grant, Canada
2021 $39,228 Ecampus Ontario Grant, Research Grant, Canada
2021 $39, 025 CFI JELF Grant recipient, Research Grant, Canada
2020 This Is Research, Innovation in Creativity & Research, Toronto, Canada
2019 $3000 Seed Grant, OCAD University Research Grant
2019 Artist Residency Program, ABA American British Academy, Muscat, Oman
2018 OCAD University, Shortlisted for BLG Faculty Equity Award, Toronto, Canada
2018 OCAD University, Shortlisted for Inspired Teaching Award – Excellence in Teaching First Year Students, Toronto, Canada
2017 OCAD University Faculty of Art Teaching Award, Toronto, Canada
2013 Nominated for International Residency Program to Künstlerhaus Bethanien Finalist, Canada Council for the Arts
2010 The Brooklyn Rail One on One with Phong Bui Recipient
2010 Outstanding Merit Award, Pratt Institute, New York, NY, USA
2010 Pratt Brooklyn Public Symposium Award, Selected by Ken Johnson, The New York Times, New York, USA
2007 Finalist for Annual 2007 Art Matters Festival, Galerie Quartier Libre, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
2006 Finalist for Annual 2006 Art Matters Festival – Galerie Art Mur, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
SELECTED EXHIBITION
2026 In A Free State, Luhring Augustine Gallery - Tribeca, New York, NY
2025 Rejecting the Single Axis, Hamline University, Minnesota, Online
2025 This Is Research Collection, Ada Slaight Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2023 The Drawing Stall, Drawings By Living Drawers, Online
2023 Panasonic Inc, Experimental Animation Immersive Installation, Toronto, Canada
2020 Cro55ings, Virtual Art Collection, curated by John Monteith & Johanna K Becker
2020 Designing for the Future, Civic Art Lab, East Village, NYC
2019 Sustainable Futures, Chinatown Soup Gallery, NYC
2019 Hybrid Painting, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
2018 Open Engagement 2018 – Sustainability, Queens Museum, New York, NY
2017 Circular Ecology, Civic Art Lab, East Village, New York, NY
2017 The Model's Origin: Beyond the Core, Kansas City Centre for Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri
2016 PROJECT 31, OCAD University, Toronto Ontario
2014 Painted hybrids/malowane hybrydy, Galeria Fabryka Skwer, Warsaw, Poland
2014 Internet as Medium, Steuben Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2013 The Story of the Creative, See | Exhibition Space, New York, NY, USA
2012 Lion mouse, Gallery 1313, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2011 B.O.S., Bushwick 56 Bogart, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2011 Global Art Project, Broadway Gallery, New York, USA
2011 Vegabundas Sketchbook, Container, Tel Aviv, Israel
2010 Opening Reception, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, 144 West 14th St, New York, NY
2010 I said I had an Internal Clock, then we Missed the Bus, Steuben Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2010 The Consulate General: Two In-Line-Out, Art Square Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Curated by Kika Misztela
2009 Skin Deep, Kips Gallery Chelsea, New York, NY, USA
2009 Remains to be Seen, Lennox Contemporary Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, curated by Rhonda Corvese
2009 Remains, Cohen/Lasry House, Clark University, Boston, Ma, USA
2009 Politics & Media, Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2008 Une Chêvre Pour Charlotte, Galerie Quartier Libre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2008 A Goat for Charlotte, Gallery 1313, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2007 Art Matters, Sharon Ramsey Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2006 Against Nature, Galerie Quartier Libre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2006 Ms.America, VAV Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2006 Lost Horizon, Art Mur, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
PRESS
Sutton, Benjamin, Hyperallergic, https://hyperallergic.com/442104/open-engagement-returns-to-the-queens-museum-for-artist-led-conference-on-sustainability/, New York, October 9, 2018,
Kultural TVP, television interview, “Kultura Warszawa", Warsaw, Poland, April 27 2014.
O.pl - Partner in Culture "Veronika Szkudlarek with Hybrids in Warsaw", Warsaw, Poland, April 22, 2014.
TVpolonia, television interview “Qadrans Qltury”, TVP Warszawa, Warsaw, Poland, May 3 2014.
Peter Howell, The Toronto Star “Szkudlarek’s Lion Mouse a Must-See-Fall-Art-Event", Toronto, Canada, September 6, 2012.
Anna Piszczkiewicz, Interview, OMNI Television “Culture TO”, Toronto, Canada, November 17, 2012.
Michael Rush, 2010 Symposium selected by Ken Johnson, Public Reviews, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, USA, April 6, 2010.
Paddy Johnson, 2010 Symposium selected by Ken Johnson, Public Reviews, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, USA, April 13, 2010.
Matthew Higgs, 2010 Symposium selected by Ken Johnson, Public Reviews, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, USA, April 20, 2010.
Andrea Scott, 2010 Symposium chosen by Ken Johnson, Public Reviews of Work by Selected Artist, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, USA, April 27, 2010.
Kika Misztela, Catalogue: “Consulate General of Poland, Art Polonica, In-Line-Out”, Toronto, Canada, September 28, 2010.
Sioban Lombardi, “Art and Thinking- A Discussion of Art & Contemporary Culture”, Tuesday, August 4 2009.
Gary Michael Dault, “Veronika Szkudlarek at Gallery 1313”, The Globe and Mail, TJuly 19. 2008.
Malgorzata P. Bonikowska, Gazeta Gazeta “Chce malujac pomagac”,Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 17. 2008.
Debra Arbec, Interview, CTV News “My Montreal”, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, February 4, 2008.
Tracy Vernon, Global Television “This Morning Live”, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, February 19, 2008.
Tracey Lindeman, interview, The Mirror “Art-News”, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, February 12, 2008.
Susan Semenak, “Montreal Artist - Rwanda to Galerie Quartier Libre” The Gazette, Montreal, February 3, 2008.
ACADEMIC
Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto, Canada
2025- Associate Professor, Tenured, Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto, Canada
present
2025 Interim Chair, Experimental Animation
2021- Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track, Ontario College of Art and Design University,
2025 Toronto, Canada
2023- Graduate Supervision, Grad Studies, Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto, Canada
present
2019- Assistant Professor, Teaching Intensive Stream, Ontario College of Art and Design University,
2021 Toronto, Canada
2019- Associate Graduate Faculty, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Canada Present
2015- Teaching Intensive Stream, Lecturer, Ontario College of Art and Design University,
2019 Toronto, Canada
2013- Adjunct / Sessional, Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto, Canada
2015
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Canada
2019- Present
Visiting Adjunct Professor
Associate Graduate Faculty member
Master of Science (MSc) in Computer Science
Co-Supervise Thesis
LECTURES
2025 V. Szkudlarek Artist talk + Innovative Pedagogy for XR Space Jam, Digital and Studio Arts, Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota
2024 AI Un-Symposium hosted by NYU, - Professor Veronika Szkudlarek Re: XR Space Jam course offered at OCAD. NYC, NY, USA
2024 International Office OCAD U + Manila, University of the Philippines - Professor Veronika Szkudlarek Artists Talk
2023 AI/ New Technologies International Networking Group - Professor Veronika Szkudlarek Re: XR Space Jam course offered at OCAD
2023 International Office OCAD U + University Arts London - Professor Veronika Szkudlarek World Building, Wimbledon Campus + OCADU
2023 Veronika Szkudlarek Guest Artist, University Arts London, Wimbledon, United Kingdom
2021 Veronika Szkudlarek Guest Artist / Thesis External Examiner, Guelph University, Guelph, Canada
2021 Veronika Szkudlarek Tenure Track Presentation, “Rejecting the Single Axis :Transmogrifying Extended Reality to Disrupt Conventions in Animation”, Virtual Public Presentation - Hosted by OCADU, Toronto
2020. NSCAD - Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Artist Talk
2019 VRTO - Virtual & Augmented Reality Conference & Expo. Partnership with OCADU and Ontario Tech.
2019 Traditional Painting in
Nontraditional Time, American
British Academy, Muscat, Oman.
2018 Open Engagement - Sustainability,
Queens Museum "Hybrid Painting,
Drawing & Animation: Pushing
Traditional Practice Forward with
Technology" by Veronika Szkudlarek,
New York, NY
2018 Interdisciplinary Master’s in Art, Media
& Design Lecture for Graduate
Student Thesis Seminar Class, OCAD
U, Toronto, Canada
2017 Sustainability Conference - Columbia
University, CivicArtLab “Hybrid
Painting As Metaphor Incorporating
Digital Technology In A Traditional
Practice” by Veronika Szkudlarek (Fine
artist & educator, OCAD Toronto),
New York, NY, USA
2017 Civic Art Lab, “Hybrid Painting As
Metaphor: Incorporating Digital
Technology In A Traditional Practice”
by Veronika Szkudlarek, New York, NY
2017 FATE’s 16th Biennial,
"Redefining the Basics: Introducing
3D Modeling and Animation Software
into Traditional Painting Course."
Panel topic: Hands-on Making and
Beyond: Balancing Tactile and Digital.
Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City,
Missouri, USA
2015 “Contemporary Digital Practices”
Mercedez Benz Financial Services
Headquarters Lecture and Workshop,
Toronto, Canada
2015 Panel Moderator, “Control
Panel/Machine Aesthetics" with artists
James Clark, Linda Francis, Micah
Ganske, Ben Garthus, and Tom
Moody”, Honey Ramka Gallery,
New York, NY, USA
2014 “Vagabond Aesthetics”, Dare2Create,
Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts
Council, Toronto, Canada
2013 “Painting in the Age of Digital
Reproduction”, Fine Art Department,
Leaside, Toronto, Canada
2010 Artist in Residence, 2009/2010
Conference, Nobel Peace Prize to
Rwanda’s Righteous, Rwanda Kigali
2009 “Reframing Painting”, Fine Art
Department, Canadian International
School of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
2009 Artist is Residence with Professor Frank
Chalk from Concordia University, MRH,
Berlin, Germany
2009 “Metamodern ”, 1st Annual IHR
Conference, Clark University, Boston,
USA
2009 “Remains to Be Seen Exhibition -
Atom Egoyan”, Lennox Contemporary
Gallery, Toronto,Canada
2009 “From Mural to Gallery”, Galerie
Quartier Libre, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
2008 Artist Talk, Design & Interdisciplinary
Art Department, Don Mills Collegiate
Institute, Toronto, Canada
2008 Artist Talk “Painting Abstraction -
Residency in Kigali Rwanda”, Miss
Edgar & Miss Cramps Alumni,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2007 Artist in Residence, Mother Theresa of
Missions of Charity, Kigali, Rwanda
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Greenspace NYC/ CivicArtLab
FATE member – Foundations in Art: Theory and Education
President of the Pratt Artist League, New York, NY, USA
College Art Association (CAA), New York, NY, USA
COLLECTIONS
MIGS Institute, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada