BIO

Lisa Penz is a first-generation Canadian painter based in Vancouver. Raised by a Viennese contractor who immigrated to the West Coast after being captivated by a photograph of Jericho Beach, Penz learned to draw at her father’s drafting table. She later studied abstract painting at Emily Carr University and Art History at the University of Queensland, developing a visual language that bridges European craft with the atmospheric light of the Pacific Northwest.

Discovered in her twenties when an interior designer scouted her abstract pieces in a Point Grey residence, Penz spent the next fifteen years creating custom art for luxury properties globally, including the Four Seasons, Fairmont, JW Marriott, and One&Only Dubai. This extensive tenure established her mastery of scale, surface quality, and spatial psychology.

Penz now presents her most personal body of work: a series of structural abstractions she terms Night Architecture. This fresh, new work synthesizes her Austrian heritage with the mysterious, overcast mood of her native West Coast.

CV

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024 GOLD, Le Cadeau Space, West Vancouver, BC
2023 FOLKLORE, East Pender Project Space, Vancouver, BC
2017 ABSTRACTION, Jericho Art Centre, Vancouver, BC
2014 FANTASYLAND, Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver, BC
2010 FAIRY TALES, Canvas Gallery, Vancouver, BC

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026 HARMONY ARTS, West Vancouver, BC
2025 MIDSUMMER ROMANCE, Silk Purse Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2024 HARMONY ARTS, West Vancouver, BC
2023 BESPOKE, Harmony Arts, West Vancouver, BC
2022 ABSTRACT COLLECTIONS, Farmboy International Art Advisory (FBFA), Vancouver, BC
2018 DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT, CASA of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2017 RED DOT SHOW, Chuck Jones Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 WALK THE TALK, International Fringe Festival, Vancouver, BC
2015 ROBOTS & MONSTERS, Ayden Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2015 TIKI TOONS, Van Eaton Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014 JAY WARD TRIBUTE, Van Eaton Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013 MAY LEFORGE BE WITH YOU, Hot Art Wet City Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2013 HOT RODS & HONEYS, Tasty Gallery, Seattle, WA
2011 DREAMING HAZEL DOONEY, Latrobe Contemporary Gallery, Morwell, Australia
2010 COCO ROCHA’S STRUT FOR A CURE, The Hazelton Hotel, Toronto, ON

PERMANENT CORPORATE & COLLECTIONS

One&Only One, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Caesars Palace (The Villas), Las Vegas, NV, USA
JW Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong, China
JW Marriott Hotel, Atlanta, GA, USA
Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The DOUGLAS, Autograph Collection, Vancouver, BC, Canada
PARADOX Hotel, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Marriott Resort, Newport, RI, USA

RESIDENCIES & SPECIAL PROJECT GRANTS

Artist-in-Residence Fully Funded, The Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver
The Creative Spark Grant, City of Vancouver

EDUCATION

2011 Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Abstract Painting, Vancouver, BC
2007 University of Queensland, Art History, Brisbane, Australia
2000 Langara College, Graphic Arts & Design, Vancouver, BC