Exhibition
DEFIANCE – LANA MATSKIV ART EXHIBITION
an exhibition and sale of paintings and graphics by the Ukrainian Canadian visual artist, Lana Matskiv
Sunday, December 4, 2022 to Friday, February 3, 2023 @ Mon - Wed, Fri: 10 am to 4 pm, Thurs: 10 am to 7 pm
Shevchenko Museum - 1604 Bloor Street West Toronto ON M6P 1A7
On Sunday, December 4, 2022, the Shevchenko Museum, at 1604 Bloor Street West in Toronto, will present DEFIANCE, an exhibition and sale of paintings and graphics by the Ukrainian Canadian visual artist, Lana Matskiv.
In her symbolist, figurative works, Lana Matskiv addresses the burning issues of today’s reality in Ukraine and around the world - war and peace; the search for a better life in a new land while maintaining one’s identity; and the role of art as a vehicle for attaining goals.
The artist tells stories, her own and those of the immigrants and settlers she has met, focusing on their emotions, history, and culture. Her images depict moments of transition in people’s lives, seen particularly through the lens of folk stories, poetry, and the performing arts. Whether driven by choice or curiosity, or the desperate need to escape war, hunger or political oppression, the artist believes that people are united in the defiance necessary to reject the status quo and to risk the danger, beauty and promise of the long and unknown road ahead.
To quote the artist: “All I need to do is listen to the voices in my surroundings and translate them into the visual world with the use of tone, color and edges. Whether I work from life models or imagination, I always try to ground my work in the tradition of direct observation and realistic rendering of life”.
Ms. Matskiv studied art from a young age, first in Ukraine at the Kharkiv Art School for Youth, and in later years, through private instruction in Odesa. In Canada, she continues to hone the mastery of her craft through the French Atelier method as taught by internationally- acclaimed instructor Fernando Freitas, of the Toronto Academy of Realist Art.
Lana Matskiv is a member of the Ukrainian Association of Visual Artists of Canada. Her work has won awards at international art competitions; has been auctioned in aid of Ukraine and displayed at the Ukrainian Consulate in Toronto; and is in the permanent collection of the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, as well as in private collections in Canada, the USA and Ukraine.
The DEFIANCE exhibition opening will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 pm on Sunday, December 4, in the Shevchenko Museum at 1604 Bloor Street West, Toronto. Opening remarks by art critic, Lorette Luzajic. The exhibition will run until February 3, 2023. Gallery hours are Monday - Wednesday, Friday, 10 am - 4 pm, Thursday, 10 am - 7 pm, and weekends by appointment.
