Daria Griffin

Young contemporary Ukrainian artists who have established themselves on the Canadian art scene will show their work at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation for the first time in a group exhibition. The works range from traditional drawing, painting and printmaking to photo-based and computer images. Their subject matter is varied and their style is diverse. What they have in common is their heritage.

There are nine artists participating in the exhibit Olexander Vlasenko, Ina Levitsky, Karen Bosy, Lesya Granger, Kyra Griffin, Vlademir Zabeida, Christina Yarmol, Ihor Polischuk and Mir Lada.

Olexander Vlasenko works with pigment and charcoal. He will exhibit elegant life-sized drawings of slice-of-life scenes that came from films that were produced by the soviet government, with nostalgic images meant to entice the diaspora to return home. Olexander received degrees from the Ontario College of Art and Design, University of Guelph as well as an MFA from the University of Western Ontario. He is a recipient of a number of awards including first prize in the 2002 Drawing Exhibition organized by the John B Aird Gallery in Toronto.

Ina Levitsky and Karen Bosy are both printmakers. Inas work is figurative and makes references to the situation of the figure within the dichotomies of nature/culture, inside/outside, and life/death. Ina has a BFA from Queens University and an MFA from the University of Calgary. Among the awards she has received is first prize in the Canadian Printmaking Competition sponsored by Ernst and Young.

Karen creates lyrical monoprints on paper using images such as swans, elephants, goddesses, bathers and other mythical persona. She attended the Ontario College of Art and Design and later received a Higher Degree in printmaking at the Slade School in London. She has since shown her work there and elsewhere internationally.

The painters are Lesya Granger, Christina Yarmol, Ihor Polischuk and Vladimir Zabeida. Lesyas richly layered oil paintings reflect her range of personal experience from the ethereal to more recently, motherhood. She received her Masters Degree from Carleton University. Christina demonstrates in her work a reverence for her culture and her playful nature by combining wry humour and vibrant colours with Ukrainian subject matter. Her works are found in a number of private collections.

Ihor Polischuk and Vladimir Zabeida both studied in Lviv, Ukraine. Ihors paintings enter into the world of fairy tales and fantasy. Vladimir explores themes and motifs that have been inspired both by archaeology and by his own life experience to form a symbolism that is both personal and archetypal. He has exhibited internationally and has works in collections such as the National Bank of Canada, Ernst and Young and Fidelity Investments in Boston.

Kyra Griffin and Mir Lada use photographic images as a vehicle for expression. Kyras particular percep-tion of banal city sites renders them haunting and eerie. She has received the Kodak and Royal Photography Awards at Concordia University. Mir manipulates his photographs digitally and has gained international recognition. His work is innovative and among his many credits is an award-winning photograph in Rolling Stone magazine.

Visit “New Works…New Faces” from April 28 – May 19 at the KUMF Gallery, 2118-A Bloor St. W. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday 1pm – 6pm, Sunday 1pm – 5pm.