A Thing of Beauty No.3 , oil on canvas, 84_x120_ 2023. $3500.jpg

Wanda Lock

—  Wanda Lock  —

An artist and curator, Wanda Lock has contributed to the art world through her artworks and dedication to promoting art in her community. Born in Oliver, British Columbia, in 1969, Lock's artistic journey has been marked by exploring themes such as domesticity, nostalgia, and banality.

Wanda Lock's artistic journey began to take shape in her early years. In 1987, she enrolled in the Fine Arts Diploma program at Okanagan College, where she honed her technical skills and laid the foundation for her artistic pursuits. After completing two years at Okanagan College, Lock transferred to Emily Carr College of Art & Design. In 1992, she graduated from Emily Carr with a studio major in painting and a solid artistic foundation. Lock's artistic practice primarily centers around painting but extends to mediums such as drawing, collage, and installation. She weaves together themes of domesticity, nostalgia, and banality, inviting viewers to reflect upon the ordinary aspects of everyday life. Lock explores the emotions and memories tied to domestic spaces through her works, unraveling the complexities of personal histories and human connections.

The Year We Disappeared, a solo exhibit at the Vernon Public Art Gallery in 2020, looked into Wanda Lock's personal experiences. ..."The Year We Disappeared is about books read, movies seen, and stories told. It's about conversations had over morning coffee, late-night studio visits, and brief encounters with those who slip in and out of our lives. The Year We Disappeared is about the summer I turned 50."

In addition to her artistic endeavors, Lock has been an active curator, contributing to the art community. Since 2015, she has held the position of curator at the Lake Country Art Gallery, where she has curated exhibitions that showcase the works of emerging and established artists. Her curatorial practice allows her to engage with diverse artistic expressions and create meaningful connections between artists, artworks, and viewers.

In 2021, the Kelowna Art Gallery invited Lock to guest curate an exhibition featuring works from the gallery's permanent collection. The exhibition, A Year from Now: works from the permanent collection, brought together sixty-three works of art from the Kelowna Art Gallery's permanent collection featuring regional-based artists Briar Craig, Fern Helfand, Jane Everett, Mary Smith McCulloch, and Jim Kalnin, along with Landon Mackenzie, Gathie Falk, Norval Morisseau, Carl Beam, and Wanda Koop, among others.

Spring 2024 group exhibition, Significant Forms, at the Kelowna Art Gallery. And a solo show at the Kelowna Art Gallery in 2008 entitled Stacks and Piles: Recent Works by Wanda Lock. She has also participated in group exhibitions at the gallery, including Personal Topographies in 2012 and Drawing From Life in 2016.

Her work belongs to various public art collections, including the Kelowna Art Gallery, Penticton Art Gallery, Headbones Art Gallery, and the Vernon Public Art Gallery. In 2022, Lock was commissioned by the Kelowna Art Gallery to create a site-specific installation at the Kelowna International Airport entitled Kate & Molly, as well as Flying Machines and Poems for Strangers, 2013. In 2016, she collaborated with artist Rena Warren on Escape Artists, a site-specific installation at the Kelowna Art Gallery's Rotary Courtyard, as part of the Artist's Garden Project series.

Wanda Lock lives in Lake Country, BC.