Isabella Vella

Isabella Vella (b. Toronto, 2001) studied Geography and Environmental Science at McGill University—an academic foundation that resonates in her work, where environment and place are key. She has exhibited in both institutional and commercial venues in Toronto, London, and Copenhagen, and her paintings have also featured in New York and at the Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo. Working at the intersection of painting and drawing, Vella employs ink, natural pigments, acrylic, and gesso. Her images feature flat, tactile surfaces where multiple narrative layers emerge simultaneously. Drawing on her background in environmental science, she crafts female-led stories that bridge past and present, often set in landscapes probing femininity's rapport with nature. Medieval paintings and manuscripts frequently serve as points of reference, allowing her to weave worlds of intimacy, sensuality, and interconnectedness— linking the Medieval Warm Period to today's Anthropocene