Veronika Szkudlarek is an artist making abstract paintings and animations hybridizing digital and analogue mark making.
Szkudlarek's experimental art practice considers the impact of XR, an umbrella term encompassing augmented, virtual, and mixed reality technologies, on contemporary Animation and Painting by exploring relationships between physical materiality and digital simulations. Painted textures - their imperfections, clumps and marks - function as an entropic disruption in a coded digital realm. Szkudlarek sees XR technology as a potential to dismantle and reframe long standing cultural and gender stereotyping in the Fine Arts. Her abstract experimentation in virtual environments acts as a site of intervention, using gesture and performative mark making to subvert the intent of the technology.
Szkudlarek's exhibitions includes Queens Museum in NYC, Centre for Contemporary Practices in Kansas City and Galeria Skwer in Warsaw. The New York Times art-critic Ken Johnson included her in the 2010 Brooklyn Symposium. In 2008 Gary Michael Dault, art critic for The Globe and Mail wrote that “artist Veronika Szkudlarek has already chalked up enough experiences to fuel a dozen careers in painting”.
She is an Assistant Professor in the Drawing & Painting department as well as in the Digital Painting & Expanded Animation department at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU) in Toronto, Canada.
She is also a Visiting Adjunct Professor as an Associate Graduate Faculty member in the Master of Science in Computer Science at The University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
She is the recipient of the Outstanding Merit Award from Pratt Institute, OCADU Faculty of Art Teaching Award, several E-Campus Ontario grants, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the 2019 Seed Grant and has been shortlisted for the BLG Equity award.
Veronika Szkudlarek has appeared on many television interviews including Global TV's This Morning Live. She has moderated numerous public panels on contemporary art including Honey Ramka Gallery in New York City. Her work has been recognized internationally, invited to speak at Columbia University, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Queen Museum including cities like New York, Kigali, Jerusalem, Kansas City, Warsaw, Cairo, Oman and Montreal.
EDUCATION
2010 MFA with Distinction & Honors, Painting, Pratt Institute, New York, NY, USA
2006 BFA with Honors, Studio Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020. The Drawing Stall, Virtual, Drawings Made by Living Drawers
2020 Cro55ings, Virtual, curated by John Monteith & Johanna K Becker
2018 Sustainable Futures, Chinatown Soup Gallery, New York, NY
2018 Open Engagement 2018 – Sustainability, Queens Museum, New York, New York
2017 Circular Ecology, Civic Art Lab, East Village, NYC
2017 The Model's Origin: Beyond the Core, Kansas City Centre for Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
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 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.
AWARDS / DISTINCTIONS
2021 $89, 325 Ecampus Ontario Grant
2021 $39,228 Ecampus Ontario Grant
2021 Canadian Foundation for Innovation - CFI JELF Grant
2020 This Is Research, Campaign to raise the profile of research performed by creative professionals, scholars, and strategic thinkers, Toronto, Canada
2019 $3000 Seed Grant, OCAD University Research Grant
2020 This Is Research, Campaign to raise the profile of research performed by creative professionals, scholars, and strategic thinkers, Toronto, Canada
2019 Ontario Trillium Foundation - Seed Grant
2019 Artist in Residence, Muscat Oman
2018 OCAD University, Shortlisted BLG Equity Faculty 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 International Residency Program to
Künstlerhaus Bethanien Finalist,
Canada Council for the Arts
2011 OneONE Award / Pratt, Phong Bui, The Brooklyn Rail, New York, NY, USA
2010 2010 Symposium Award, Selected by Ken Johnson, The New York Times,
New York, USA
2010 Pratt Institute, Outstanding Merit Award, 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 – Gallery Art Mur, Montréal,
Quebec, Canada.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto, Canada
2019 - Present
Assistant Professor
Intermediate Painting
Capstone Thesis 1
Capstone Thesis 2
Pixel Pusher
2015 - 2019
Teaching Intensive Stream
Capstone Thesis 1
Capstone Thesis 2
Drawing & Painting – Intermediate Painting
Drawing & Painting – Painting Studio
Drawing & Painting – Painting 1
Drawing & Painting – Painting 2
Digital Painting Expanded Animation –
Pixel Pusher
Digital Painting Expanded Animation –
Collaborative Expanded Animation 1
Digital Painting Expanded Animation
Collaborative Expanded Animation 2
Digital Painting Expanded Animation –
Painting and Digital Imaging 1
Digital Painting Expanded Animation –
Painting and Digital Imaging 2
Drawing & Painting - Independent Study
2013-2015
Adjunct Professor
Digital Painting Expanded Animation –
Painting and Digital Imaging 1
Digital Painting Expanded Animation –
Painting and Digital Imaging 2
Drawing & Painting – Painting Studio
Drawing & Painting – Intro to Painting 1
Drawing & Painting – Intro to Painting 2
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
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