Art, Place, and Pause: A New Commission for the Studio

At Elevation Architecture, we’re always exploring how design can nurture the human experience, how space, material, and atmosphere influence the way people feel. Recently, we had the privilege of collaborating with Wiradjuri artist Karen Lee (Mungarrja) on a custom artwork that now holds pride of place in our studio breakout area.

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Karen’s paintings are abstract representations of landscape, informed by Aboriginal symbols and motifs. Her practice reflects the living connection between culture, place, and memory, a visual storytelling that captures both stillness and movement, past and present.

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For this commission, our interior design team worked closely with Karen to create a piece that feels at home within our studio environment. Drawing inspiration from one of her previous works, we collaborated to adapt the palette to align with the soft greens of our planting and furnishings, and the warm timbers that frame our shared spaces. The artwork is both a visual focal point and a quiet companion, a grounding presence amid the rhythm of daily practice.

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As Karen describes, the piece serves as “a reminder of the importance of finding moments in the chaos of life to make space for ourselves. A place to come for restoration. To connect or to find the calm.”

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For our team, it’s become exactly that, a point of reflection and reconnection throughout the day. Beyond its aesthetic beauty, the work invites pause: a moment to breathe, recalibrate, and remember that creativity often thrives in the quiet between tasks.

Karen Lee, known by her Wiradjuri name Mungarrja (meaning “mountain”), was born in Dubbo, New South Wales, and is a proud member of the Tubba-Gah clan. Now living and working on Darug Country, her art is represented nationally and has been commissioned by cultural institutions and organisations across Australia.

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We’re honoured to include her work within our practice not just as art on the wall, but as a reflection of what we value most: connection to people, place, and purpose.