Vanderzwet approaches her practice with curiosity and a desire to explore the complexity and allure of contemporary visual culture. Unabashed in her approach to imagery often fraught with what she terms “bubble gum” qualities, her work is bright and cheeky, loud and alluring, energetic and humorous, quirky but familiar. The surfaces of her paintings and large scale mediated collages flirt with the edges of recognition, engaging in a playful negotiation of material, composition and subject matter which is sometimes fully realized and at other times falls into abstraction. Vanderzwet’s layered compositions offer the viewer the possibility of untangling her bold and engaging surfaces while simultaneously creating further intrigue through her sure-handed manipulation of colour, material and form.

Rachel Vanderzwet has an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of Victoria as well as a BFA from University of Guelph and a Diploma in Graphic Design and Art Fundamentals from Niagara College. She has shown nationally in Toronto, Halifax, Guelph, Victoria and Vancouver.