CLAIRE CEPUKAS

Claire Cepukas is a Canadian artist based in Ottawa, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Ottawa and spent over a decade working throughout Canada in the forestry industry before transitioning back to a studio practice. Her years spent in forests across the country fostered a deep appreciation for the natural world and the complex relationships between landscapes, wildlife, and human intervention.

 Nature remains the central focus of Cepukas' work. Drawing from both lived experience and observation, her paintings explore themes of ecology, memory, and our evolving relationship with the environment. More recently, she has become interested in reimagining natural worlds through the lens of dioramas - constructed scenes that blur the line between reality and artifice. Using these miniature environments as a point of departure, she creates paintings that invite viewers to consider how nature is represented and interpreted.

While she has retired from forestry professionally, her connection to the woods continues to inform her artistic practice. Through painting, Cepukas seeks to capture both the wonder and complexity of the natural world, offering spaces where both observation and imagination intersect.