| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Born in Estonia, Sylvia Boehrnsen spent several years as a refugee in Germany before immigrating to Canada in 1951. She began her formal painting studies in the extension program of the University of Alberta, continuing her education through the Coste House of the Calgary Allied Arts Centre and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, before completing her BFA at the University of Calgary (1972), where she also earned her MA in German Literature (1974).
Self-employed as a professional artist specialising in watercolours since 1976, Boehrnsen draws inspiration from the Canadian Arctic and the foothills and mountains of Alberta. Summarising her personal career and aesthetic philosophy, she writes, “Naturally, I do from time to time question the validity of what I do and for now I have come to this conclusion: despite the help or hindrance of art critics, art history, or any form of censorship, the judgment of value in all art is left to the individual artist and observer…. There are indeed no foolproof formulas or scales of measurement of artistic value, other than one’s own integrity, an open mind and heart, and truthfulness and sincerity to one’s own sensibilities.”
Boehrnsen staged solo exhibitions in Calgary including Arctic – Baffin Island at Mt. Royal College and Over the Purcell Mountains at the Gulf Oil Gallery, as well as a solo show at the Canadian High Commission in Singapore. Boehrnsen also participated in numerous group exhibitions including Five Watercolour Artists at the Johnson Gallery in Edmonton, the Federation of Canadian Artists annual at the Federation Gallery in Vancouver, and the As I See It exhibition that toured New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii. Sixteen public and corporate collections house Boehrnsen’s work, including those of the University of Calgary, Esso Resources Limited, and the law firm Cook, Duke, Cox, Tod & Kenny. |