Vancouver artist Elizabeth Zvonar graduated from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, in 2001. Her collage works are composed of source materials drawn from art historical references, contemporary advertising, and popular culture. They question existing social and cultural systems through the use of humour and irony. Her work often speaks to the ethos and aspirations of those among the periphery of mainstream society, drawing inspiration from counterculture movements that challenge the status quo. Zvonar treats imagery as a metaphor, establishing a referential context that calls into question popular conceptions and historical canons to address cultural constructions of power. She often uses a feminist perspective to illustrate how rules of engagement were unbalanced in the past and remain so today.
Zvonar has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout Canada and internationally in New York, Australia, Japan, and Belgium. In 2008, Zvonar was the inaugural artist at the Malaspina Print Research Residency and was an artist in residence at the Banff Centre for the thematic residency Cosmic Ray Research. She received the 2009 City of Vancouver Mayor’s Award for Emerging Visual Artist; in 2011 she was presented with the Emily Award for outstanding achievement by an Emily Carr alumna; and was the 2015 recipient of the Shadbolt Foundation’s VIVA award. Zvonar is represented by Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto.
