| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Helena Hadala is a multi-media visual artist who is inspired by Zen Buddhist philosophy and Taoism. These philosophies inform her life and her approach to the creative process. Hadala has maintained a full time studio practice for more than thirty years. She graduated in 2002 from the University of Calgary with a Master of Arts in Drawing after studying at the International Hanga Academy in Japan (1980-81).
The artist has traveled extensively and attended international residencies in Australia and Spain. She completed Shadows (2015), an 11 min HD video, in residence at the Banff Centre. Her work was featured in the 8th International Print Biennial Douro 2016 and in the 1st Virtual Biennial 2016, Douro, Portugal. Helena’s next project for 2017-2018 is entitled Walking River, a multimedia work streaming poetry, visual imagery and music in collaboration with Canadian composer John Abram and American writer/artist Deng Ming-Dao.
Her solo exhibitions have been featured in White River, Vermont (USA), Mezzanine Gallery, University of Calgary (AB), and Gallery San Chun (Calgary, AB). Hadala has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Calgary (AB), Ostrova, Czech Republic, and Krakow, Poland as well as in Japan, Finland and Portugal. Her works are held in public collections including the Canadian Art Bank, Canada Council (Ottawa, ON), the Nickle Arts Museum and the Glenbow Museum (Calgary, AB) as well as several private and corporate collections. She has been a sessional drawing instructor at the University of Calgary and the Alberta College of Art + Design. She is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts. |