Artist’s Statement
I am a Regina-based painter whose work is rooted in the landscapes and lived history of Saskatchewan. For many years, I focused on woodland scenes, drawn to their quiet complexity. Over time, my attention shifted to abandoned farmhouses, grain elevators, and the enduring marks of prairie life—subjects that challenged me to find new ways of seeing within familiar terrain.
This evolution reflects my own story. I grew up on a family farm that, like many across Saskatchewan, was lost in the transition to industrial agriculture. Beginning in the 1980s, family farms were consolidated into large-scale operations, and with them disappeared not only ways of working the land, but entire histories. Wooden grain elevators—once defining features of prairie communities—have largely been replaced by industrial structures, leaving behind only fragments of a shared past.
My paintings explore the tension between presence and absence—honouring what endures while reflecting on what has been lost. I focus on prairie structures and abandoned buildings, placing them within vast skies and open landscapes. The result is imagery that feels both rooted and subtly surreal, where memory, place, and atmosphere converge.
As the physical traces of earlier prairie life continue to disappear, I am mindful that these are not just structures, but stories. Through my work, I aim to hold onto those stories—inviting viewers to pause, to remember, and to consider how we remain connected to the land that sustains us.
Artist’s Biography
Debbie Wozniak-Bonk is a Canadian visual artist whose work reflects deep roots in the prairie landscape of Southeast Saskatchewan, having been raised on a farm near Corning.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in painting, from the University of Regina in 1996. Since graduating, Wozniak-Bonk has built a sustained and credible presence in the fine art community, exhibiting widely and consistently. Her exhibition record includes 15 solo exhibitions and participation in 27 group exhibitions to date, with her work shown in respected venues such as Assiniboia Gallery, Art Gallery of Regina, Dunlop Art Gallery, McIntyre Gallery, and 5th Parallel Gallery.
Her paintings are held in private and public collections across Saskatchewan, throughout Canada, and internationally. Notably, five of her works have been acquired by the Saskatchewan Arts Board, reflecting institutional recognition of her contribution to the province’s cultural landscape. Over the course of her career, she has also completed numerous commissions, including a significant project for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2010.
Wozniak-Bonk’s work has been featured in a range of publications, including materials produced by the Saskatchewan Arts Board, as well as Galleries West, Arabella Magazine, and the Leader-Post, in addition to numerous public gallery catalogues. In 2019, she was profiled as a featured artist in the documentary Making It in Saskatchewan, produced by Citytv.
She lives and works in Regina with her husband and two children, and is currently represented by Assiniboia Gallery.
Solo Exhibitions
2024 — PrairieTales, Assiniboia Gallery
2019 — Dreamland, Assiniboia Gallery
2017 — Light Within, Assiniboia Gallery
2013 — Meet the Artist, Capital Claims
2012 — Paintings, Capital Claims
2011 — Heart Land, McIntyre Gallery
2010 — Afterglow, McIntyre Gallery
2007 — Enchanted, McIntyre Gallery
2006 — Divine Nature, McIntyre Gallery
2004 — New Life, McIntyre Gallery
2003 — Standing Still, McIntyre Gallery
2001 — Stay Gold, McIntyre Gallery
1999 — Beginnings, Manawaka Gallery
1997 — Wild at Heart, Fifth Parallel
Group Exhibitions
2026 — By Day, By Night, Assiniboia Gallery
2025 — The small works show, Assiniboia Gallery
2025 — This way, That way, Assiniboia Gallery
2025 — Spring Tides, Assiniboia Gallery
2023 — Water, Assiniboia Gallery
2023 — Trees, Assiniboia Gallery
2022 — Prairie, Assiniboia Gallery
2022 — Day and Night, Assiniboia Gallery
2021 — The Water, Assiniboia Gallery
2021 — Big, Assiniboia Gallery
2015 — Into the Forest, Art Gallery of Regina
2013 — Open Spaces, Assiniboia Gallery
2010 — Green is the Colour: The Art of Rider Pride,
Dunlop Art Gallery
2009 — Human/Nature, Art Gallery of Regina
2008 — Leaf Dancing Light, w/ Martha Cole, McIntyre Gallery
2008-2009 On Hallowed Ground Organization of
Saskatchewan Arts Councils Touring Exhibition
2006 — Small Works and Exceptions, McIntyre Gallery
2005 — In the Garden, McIntyre Gallery
2004 — An Unsettled Beauty, Saskatoon Symphony
Orchestra’s Music Festival
2001-2003 Relations, Organization of Saskatchewan Arts
Councils Touring Exhibition
2001 — Natural Elements, Mysteria Gallery
2000 — Generation Next, Rosemont Art Gallery
2000 — Flowers in February, McIntyre Gallery
1998-2000 Annual Show and Sale, Rosemont Art Gallery
1997 — Canadian Western Agribition Art Show
1996 — Communion, Fifth Parallel Gallery
Publications
2019 — Featured artist in documentary Making it in Saskatchewan City TV
2017 — Vanishing Prairie Stories, Galleries west magazine, an interview By Portia Priegert
2013 — Gallery to visit Assiniboia Gallery, Arabella magazine
2010 — Building Pride, a book published by the Dunlop Art Gallery and Saskatchewan Roughrider Football club
2009 — Human Nature, Art Gallery of Regina Catalogue
2001 — Wozniak-Bonk takes close-up look at family farm, Leader-Post Gallery review by Jack Anderson
2000 — Generation Next, Rosemont Art Gallery Catalogue