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7, No. 29 November Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Vol. 7, No.Vol. 2, Tuesday, 8, 2011 MICHELLE
PINON
PHOTO
More than 300 Ukrainian dancers from across the province participated in the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village’s Celebration of Dance May 21. Dancers from nine different associations performed before hundreds of spectators. The event is one of the largest Ukrainian dance extravaganzas in Alberta and was very well received by young and old alike. The dance movements, along with the various stories they portrayed were varied and offered great entertainment for the audience who took in many different events throughout the day including the unveiling of a special exhibit of Whitford native William Kurelek.
Iconic works of artist William Kurelek unveiled Michelle Pinon Editor
While May 21 is always a special day at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, yesterday was extra special as it marked the unveiling of Canada’s most unique art exhibit. What makes this exhibit “unique;” is that it showcases 28 works of one of Canada’s best known prairie artists, William Kurelek. All of the pieces, are on loan from family members and private collectors over the next three months. Many of Kurelek’s paintings, drawings, and literary musings are deeply rooted in spiritu-
ality and depicted in the simple way of country life he experienced as a child growing up in the Whitford district. Return of the Grain Haulers, Dust Storm, Nature’s Popsicles, Kushka and Measuring Cup, Farm Picnic, Barn Dance, and the Chipman Church are just a few of the eye catching and poignant pieces. Born in Kalyna Country, Kurelek returned home on many occasions for painting trips. “Many people in the Edmonton area own Kurelek’s, including many family members,” said Jars Balan, who represented the Kalyna Country Eco-Museum, and Roger Woltjens col-
league and art gallery owner, who paid tribute to the iconic Canadian painter. Kurelek, was a painter, photographer, writer, frame and gild maker in Toronto for most of his adult life, with a workshop in Cabbagetown. One of the many people who saw the intrinsic value of his works was Woljten’s mom, who “latched onto his early works.” Also, a member of Ukrainian Women’s Federation, she also commissioned a series of paintings of Ukrainian pioneer women that are currently on display in Saskatoon. One of his earliest memories of Kurelek was going to visit his
gallery with his mother. “I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to stay home from school one day.” Later that day, his mom decided to take him to Kurelek’s studio. He remembers the store front with soaped up windows. Viewing his art on the floor and propped up against walls made a big impression on Woljten, who later became an art dealer in Edmonton. Woltjens also remembers viewing one of Kurelek’s major exhibitions in Winnipeg that he says was unforgettable, and something he personally describes as “spectacular in size and content.” That exhibition will be on display in
Victoria over the next three months, he added. It was Woljten who persuaded Kurelek to visit his father’s ancestral village of Bukovyna despite the artists fears emanating from Cold War. “He is, and was one of Canada’s best story teller’s ever!” Woltjens recalled his first chance meeting with Kurelek in Stanley Park, who invited him to visit his studio. Little did Kurelek know that Woltjens had a plane ticket to Toronto the very next day. He went to his studio, and was granted an audience. The first thing Kurelek remarked to him was: “Oh my God you travel fast.” Woltjens said he was lucky to have been able to buy
from Kurelek directly, and remembers those paintings, numbering between 10 and 15, selling out in his Edmonton gallery in less than a week. Woltjens said it was quite a coup to have the exhibition at the Ukrainian Village, adding: “I’m overwhelmed by the fact it has taken place.” He encouraged visitors to see the exhibit as it houses some of the most important and valuable of Kurelek’s paintings who is widely revered, and has received and earned nationwide attention and international acclaim from critics and collectors throughout the world.