From Inspiration to Creation

An exhibition currently on display at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Toronto demonstrates how local, contemporary artists and artisans working in a  variety of media have been inspired by the past.

The idea for From Inspiration to Creation came from the City of Toronto’s culture plan called Creative City, says Alexandra Semeniuk, a member of the Museum’s Board and Exhibit Committee.

In its culture plan, the City, recognizing that there was a cultural Renaissance underway with numerous new buildings, such as the Opera  House being built, and others, such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, being renovated, slated 2005/2006 as a Year of Creativity.  In keeping with this theme, banners with the words Toronto Live With Culture have been festooning the city’s downtown.

“We change our exhibits annually, and when we were thinking about this one, we thought ‘how can we tie in with the city theme and link our exhibit to things that are happening in the broader community,’” says Semeniuk.

The members of the Exhibit Committee, headed by Halia Sluzar and Daria Diakowsky, “looked at this notion of Renaissance, going back to what was and it being refreshed” and decided to mount an exhibition that would focus on Toronto-based artists with a Ukrainian heritage and would look at the work they have created and how they are inspired by items that are either in the museum’s collection or from a certain era in the past,” says Semeniuk.

“We have included young artists who are recent, fourth-wave immigrants, some who came to Canada many years ago as well as artists who were born in Canada,” she adds.

Each display case has an item placed on a green background that represents a particular artist’s or artisan’s source of inspiration, together with the creators’ contemporary work.

Artists and artisans whose work is featured in the exhibition are:

Maria Chemeris. The Donetsk-born embroiderer immigrated to Canada in 1977 creates work that incorporates tone-on-tone embroidery. She is a master of satin stitch, drawnwork and cutwork.

Adele Kereliuk is a Saskatchewan-born artist who has taken courses in portraiture, mixed media, watercolours, ceramics and copper enamelling among others.

Halya Kluchko The Toronto-born curator of the UMC writes many styles of pysanky. She holds a fine arts degree from the University of Toronto and a certificate in museum studies from the Ontario Museum Association.

Maria Kohut is a member of the UMC who has many creative talents, including weaving kylyms, working with ceramics and designing headdresses.

Ivaan Kotulsky, Born in Germany, Kotulsky took up metalwork as a hobby in Toronto but it soon became a professional occupation. His work has been exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum, The Art Gallery of Ontario and numerous U.S. galleries.

Victoria Kovaleva  The Kyiv-born ceramics artist has an art diploma from the T.H Shevhchenko State Academy of Art I Kyiv and a diploma in ceramics and glass from the V.I. Mukhina Art Academy in St. Petersburg.

Halyna Kravets. Glasspainter Halyna Kravets attended the Kosiv Technical Institute of Applied Folk Art, received a diploma as artist/designer in 1986 and completed her studies at the Kyiv Academy of Art.

Halyna Lunycz, a Ukrainian-born member of the Ukrainan Museum of Canada who embroiders, does weaving on a loom and beadwork.

Oleksa Mezentsev is a Kyiv born iconographer. He studied at the Kyiv Institute of Art and the Academy of Art, in Ukraine, at the Ontario College of Art and George Brown College, in Canada, and also studied with the iconographer Emil Telizyn.  He currently teaches iconography at St. Vladimir Institute.

Mykola Polishchuk Born in a village in the Ternopil oblast, Polishchuk specializes in woodcarving and studied woodcarving and carpentry at the Ivano-Frankivsk College. He also studied at the Interior and Furniture Design Department of the Lviv State Academy of Applied and Decorative Arts.

Ihor Polishchuk was introduced to woodcarving by his father, Mykola.  Ihor studied in Lviv at the Oleksa Novakivsky Art School and then the Ivan Trush College of Decorative Art and the Lviv Academy of Art.

Olena Radomska is a Lviv-born artist who graduated from the O. Novakivsky Art School and the Academy of Art in Lviv. She specializes in leatherwork and incorporates traditional Ukrainian motifs and various techniques in in creating leatherwork pieces such as wall hangings.

Olha Sobczak has been embroidering since her early childhood in Kholm region. Upon immigrating to Canada in 1961, Sobczak began exploring more complex embroidery techniques and took up pysanka writing, weaving and beadwork.

Natalia Shevchuk Sugden's specialty is weaving. A long-time member of the UMC, she has taught weaving at children’s camps and at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada.

From Art to Inspiration is on display until Mary 31, 2007 at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada at St. Vladimir Institute, 620 Spadina Ave. Museum Hours are Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday by appointment.