On Sunday, October 16, 2022, the Shevchenko Museum at 1604 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario, will present SEVEN, an exhibition and sale of painting and sculpture by the Ukrainian-Canadian visual artist, Alexander Gutyrya.
Number SEVEN, the title of Mr. Gutyrya’s exhibition, is invested with unique spiritual power and, from ancient times, has had greatly symbolic association in mythology, religion, philosophy, cosmology, and numerology.
Employing wood, sandstone, mammoth ivory, marble, natural coloured stone and bronze in sculpture, and oil and acrylic on canvas and wood, the artist imbues his images with spiritual and symbolic meaning in his exploration of the deeper workings of the psyche, humanity’s connection to the land, and the human condition itself.
His technique of texturing, as if with intricately intersecting threads, is informed by the art of tapestry-making taught to him by a beloved aunt who worked as a weaver in the Poltava region of Ukraine. Sinuous and sensual, the vigorous patterning learned from the woven thread is realized in an entirely new form.
Born in Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city currently suffering the devastating effects of the war, Alexander Gutyrya graduated from the Donetsk College of Applied Arts with a major in Decorative Arts in 1985. As an emerging artist, he enjoyed the rare honour of holding his first exhibition at the Donetsk Museum of Arts. Subsequently, his works have been featured internationally in solo and group exhibitions; acquired by the National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kyiv and the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Vancouver; and commissioned and sold at auctions. As well, his art has found its way into private collections in Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary, Finland, the United States and Canada.
The SEVEN exhibition opening will be held from 2:30 to 5:30 pm on Sunday, October 16 in the gallery of the Shevchenko Museum at 1604 Bloor Street West, Toronto. Opening remarks by art critic, Dr. Halyna Kostiuk. The exhibition will be on display until November 30, 2022. Gallery hours are Mondays to Fridays, 10 am – 4 pm, and weekends by appointment.
Shevchenko Museum
1604 Bloor Street West
Toronto ON M6P 1A7
T: 416-534-8662
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- 1604 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON, M6P 1A7
- Tel: 416-534-8662
Museum Hours:
- Mondays to Fridays: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm; Weekends and holidays - by appointment.
