A graduate of Ballenas Secondary School in Parksville travels to Chianciano, Italy for his second international art exhibition.
Spencer Zaborniak’s portrait has been selected to be exhibited this month at the 2024 Chianciano Biennale, along with works by artists from 40 countries.
“It was an honor to be one of the 150,” Zaborbiak said. “Sometimes they choose from thousands of artists.”
His entry, titled “Into The Light,” shows a young woman standing among glistening green leaves, her face flooded with shadows. According to Zaborniak, it was the final installment in a series that experimented with and showcased female beauty in nature.
“I feel like this piece really caught my eye because it represents the theme that we are part of nature,” said Zaborniak, who now lives in Vancouver and is an artist at the Empty Wall art gallery.
He met the model named Nicole in Queen Elizabeth Park for a photo shoot.
“She’s a very talented model, so we got along really well. It came about very naturally,” he said.
Zaborniak arrived early to plan the perfect spot for a photo, but by the time he and Nicole met, the sun had already moved and the lighting had changed, so he had to improvise with a new location.
“I captured a moment where her eye was partially in shadow, but also sunlight,” he said. “I really fell in love with the image and it really spoke to me.”
He is looking forward to his first trip to Italy and plans to explore Florence and Rome with his girlfriend.
“It feels like a really big step in my career, especially since Italy is such a foundation for the arts and painting,” Zaborniak said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
This will be his second international exhibition after exhibiting at the London Art Biennale 2023.
His entry for the show was titled “How Much Is a Dollar? Part 2” and featured a young Ukrainian woman holding a burning US dollar bill, representing the destructive force that economic greed can unleash on a society.
He has always loved fine art, but for a long time Zaborniak was more interested in drawing cartoons than painting.
“That was a big focus as a kid. I did a little bit of painting, but for a large part of my life, until I was 16, I never thought I would paint or try to portray people realistically,” he said. “At the same time, it also felt like a challenge that scared me a little bit, and I was always a little bit curious about it. I always felt like it was something I couldn’t do, that I couldn’t achieve.”
Zaborniak and two other artists from the Empty Wall art gallery recently held a joint portrait exhibition. He was happy to have the opportunity to introduce himself at the microphone and talk about his interest in painting and its further development.
“I felt like I was really able to connect with so many people on such a deep level, and people had so many questions about my art and the process,” he said.
Zaborniak grew up in the Parksville and Nanoose areas and graduated from Ballenas in 2016. In 2021, he moved to Vancouver to pursue his art career.
He said he would continue to seek opportunities to showcase his artwork at international exhibitions.
“It was a really exciting journey.”
Zaborniak paints on commission and is best reached via email at [email protected]. You can find more of his work on his Instagram page @portraits.by.sz and at the Empty Wall art gallery.
The Biennale is an award-winning museum-level exhibition curated by the International Confederation of Art Critics, the Chianciano Art Museum and the Gagliardi Gallery.
