Artist Biography

Poonam Khanna is an award-winning, emerging Toronto-based artist working primarily in acrylics. She discovered her love of painting at a paint night event she attended. Since then, she has been passionate about her pursuit of painting, making it an almost daily practice.

Poonam began exhibiting her work in 2021, and has appeared in more than 50 group shows, including the Riverdale ArtWalk, the Square Foot Show and the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair. She was juried into the Federation of Canadian Artists as an elected member in 2023 and had her first solo show in that same year. In 2024, Poonam was named the 2nd Runner Up in the Arts to Hearts Emerging Woman Artist of the Year Fall Artprize. She also received an honourable mention for her painting, Out for Delivery 2, in the Federation of Canadian Artists' Scenes from Canada 2025 exhibit. She was juried into the Society of Canadian Artists in 2025.

Statement

When it rains, I like to go out and take photographs to inspire my paintings. While rainy days may be gray, they are also filled with light. Car headlights and streetlights glow on the pavement, and their lights are reflected in raindrops, especially when seen through glass. I often take photos from behind windshields or using a small piece of glass I call my 'portable window'.