"Don't let your heart die out" Painting

Daria Zapala (Pala Island) is a contemporary visual artist whose practice exists at the intersection of process-led painting, semiotics, and environmental labor. With a dual-MFA background—including an MA in Printmaking from the University of Opole and an MLitt in Fine Art from the Glasgow School of Art—Zapala’s work is deeply informed by both academic theory and visceral experience. Her current practice is heavily shaped by her work as a tree surgeon, where the physical rhythms of arboriculture and the structural language of nature merge with her interest in sound theory and animal symbolism. Rather than focusing on a central image, Zapala prioritizes the process—treating the canvas as a site where subconscious emotions and personal histories are decoded. A recipient of the Ranald & Jennifer May Postgraduate Painting Scholarship, she has worked with leading institutions such as the Glasgow Print Studio and the CCA, exhibiting her complex, "mosaic-like" visions both in the UK and internationally.