Verna Vogel has been a practising visual artist for several decades. Her artworks have been shown in commercial and public galleries across Canada, and her paintings have been acquired by private collectors around the world.
She graduated with honours from the Studio Arts Foundation Program at Capilano University in Vancouver, BC, where she studied painting, drawing, sculpture, and print making. She then received an international study grant to attend the Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA) in Kuala Lumpur for a full calendar year. She completed MIA’s third year Fine Arts Program with a focus on Chinese ink painting.
Verna’s practice taps into perceptions beyond the direct visual gaze, allowing viewers to self-reflect and experience her work in a more spiritual and metaphorical way. To create this experience, she currently composes all of her paintings with her eyes closed, relying on her body’s spatial movements to create a balance of forms. Then with eyes open, she adds colour and depth to finish the work.
Verna teaches art making processes with students in public and private schools, encouraging exploration and non-linear ways of seeing. She is also a Board member of the Alberta branch of CARFAC, which promotes and advocates for arts and culture across Canada.
Verna Vogel was born in Ontario and is currently based in Calgary, AB. Creating and showing her work, teaching, and arts advocacy are ways in which she hopes to contribute to a better, more balanced world.
Selected Exhibitions
Professional Affiliations
Since 2020 CARFAC Alberta
Board member
Since 2015 Arts Commons, Calgary AB
Visual Arts Instructor
2014 – 2015 AGA TREX: Eye and the City, Visual Arts workshop instructor/faciltator in Western Canada, various locales
2004 – 2008 Triangle Gallery, Calgary AB
Docent, installation crew, curatorial assistant.
2003 – 2004 Untitled Art Society, Calgary AB
Board member
1995 – 2001 Basic Inquiry Studio and Vancouver Art Academy, BC
Life Drawing sessions facilitator
1995 – 1997 Vancouver Community Arts Council, BC
Docent, installation crew, curatorial assistant
Education and Professional Development
2014 Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto ON
Residency: An Uncoded World (Exploring Places Beyond Cultural Geography)
1997 – 1998 Malaysian Institute of Art, Kuala Lumpur SGR, Malaysia
Third Year Fine Arts Diploma
1995 -1997 Capilano University, N. Vancouver BC
Studio Arts Foundation Diploma
Awards
1998 Asia-Pacific Students’ Award, BC Centre for International Education
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2020 Mobility – Bluerock Gallery, Black Diamond, AB
2020 Fragile Planets – Okotoks Art Gallery, AB
2017/18 Tension : No Tension – Artpoint Upstairs Gallery, Calgary AB
2017 Fragile Planets – Western GM Art Gallery, Drumheller AB
2013 Tintinabulation – AXIS Contemporary Art, Calgary AB
2012 Urban Seams – The Front Gallery, Edmonton AB
2011 Ecosystems – Kurbatoff Gallery, Vancouver BC
2011 Between The Lines – The Front Gallery, Edmonton AB
2010 Drift and Settle – AXIS Contemporary Art, Calgary AB
2008 1000 Furnished Rooms – AXIS Contemporary Art, Calgary AB
2005 Life Works – Untitled Art Society Gallery, Calgary AB
2004 Stack – UAS +15 Window Gallery, Calgary AB
1999 Life Works – Basic Inquiry Studio, Vancouver BC
Selected Duo and Group Exhibitions
2021 New Arrivals, The Collectors’ Gallery of Art, Calgary, AB
2019 just turn your head a little – Leighton Art Centre, AB – with Frances Vettergreen
2019 CHROMA – Christine Klassen Gallery, Calgary AB
2018 Women Artists – The Front Gallery, Edmonton AB
2018 G9: Transitions – Gordon Snelgrove Gallery, U of Sask, SK
2018 Studio NOW – Christine Klassen Gallery, Calgary AB
2017 Art in Space – Rumble House, Calgary AB
2017 G9: The Persistence of Vision – Collectors’ Gallery of Art, Calgary AB
2016 Exposure Festival – Christine Klassen Gallery, Calgary AB
2016 En Plein Air – Western GM Art Gallery, Drumheller AB – with John Pritchard
2015 CHROMA – Christine Klassen Gallery, Calgary AB
2015 This House is on Fire – New Edward Gallery, Calgary AB
2014/15 Eye and the City – Art Gallery of Alberta Travelling Exhibition
2014 Painting on the Edge – Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, Vancouver BC
2014 Voyage – The Front Gallery, Edmonton AB – with Amy Dryer
2012 AIRS – Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, Vancouver BC
2011 S M E T S Y S OC E – UAS Satellite Gallery, Calgary AB
2010 Winter Exhibition – Koyman Gallery, Ottawa ON
2009 Artist’s Circle Exhibition – Triangle Gallery, Calgary AB
2008 Artist’s Circle: New Generation – Triangle Gallery, Calgary AB
Installation Exhibitions and Other Projects
2020 Fragile Planets – Drumheller AB, U of Sask, and Okotoks Art Gallery AB
2018 Stitched canvas plates and prints, suspended from the ceiling in a circular
2017 formation. An exploration of space, sensory perception and environment.
2019 just turn your head a little – Leighton Art Centre, AB
Two- and three-dimensional string-and-mixed-media drawings conceived and
created onsite at the LAC, in response to the gallery space and environs.
2017/18 Tension: No Tension – Artpoint (Upstairs Gallery), Calgary AB
Two- and three-dimensional string-and-mixed-media drawings exploring
circular imagery, conceived and created onsite in the gallery space.
2017 Art in Space – a multi-artist exploration Our small 2-D artworks are cut in half.
One half remains on Earth while the other half travels to the edge of space on a
NASA shuttle. Returning home, both halves of each artwork are shown together
in several exhibitions across Canada. Conceived and implemented by Lorene
Shyba, through Rumble House.
2017 A Grain of Sand in an Ocean of Images – cSpace King Edward, Calgary AB
Installation and painted wall mural, co-created with John Pritchard.
2015 The Miner, the Healer, the Instrumentalist – cSpace King Edward, Calgary AB
Three altered hard hats signifying change and growth. Worn my Mayor Naheed
Nenshi and City Councillors during groundbreaking ceremony.
2015 Rock Body – New Edward Gallery, Calgary AB
Three-dimensional string drawing with rocks, created onsite in the gallery.
2011 S M E T S Y S O C E – UAS Satellite Gallery, Calgary AB
Thirteen contemporary artists create 2- and 3-D interpretations of “landscape”
on Verna’s stitched canvases.
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