BIOGRAPHY

Emilie Fantuz (American/Canadian) is a contemporary painter whose work examines perception through light, reflection, and layered space.Her practice explores the instability of the visual field through fractured spatial planes and layered visual structures that echo how we encounter our immediate surroundings. Fantuz works from the remnants of optical phenomena by collecting streaks of light, reflections, shadows, and the artifacts of technological mediation to articulate a way of seeing that resists a singular viewpoint.

Characterized by complex shifts in light Fantuz employs a modified alla prima approach to construct her compositions. Using a palette knife to fuse disparate layers of light and shadow into a unified, tangible surface, she positions painting as a site of slow, embodied observation. This direct method of application anchors the fleeting "optical debris" of our environments, transforming transient reflections into a permanent, material presence.

A 2026 MFA candidate at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Fantuz is a recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts grant and the incoming Artist-in-Residence at Terra Nova National Park. Her work has been exhibited at venues including Christina Parker Gallery, Revelstoke Public Art Gallery, and Art Toronto, and is held in public and private collections including Henry Ford Hospital, Stewart McKelvey, Bucci Developments, and the Bank of Ann Arbor.

Emilie Fantuz lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.