OKSANA MOVCHAN
Visual Artist
Oksana was born and raised in a family of artists in Kyiv, Ukraine. She studied printmaking at the Ukrainian National Academy of Arts and Architecture graduating with a PhD in 1997. She entered the art world with numerous accolades and shows in Ukraine including two presidential citations. At 27, she was invited to Toronto to present a solo-show at the Canadian-Ukrainian Art Foundation. The exhibition was well received by the Ukrainian-Canadian community, and the offer was extended to also exhibit in Ottawa.
The personal and artistic opportunities presented by experiencing a new country and culture changed the course of her life; she married and stayed in Toronto, Canada. The next few years became focussed on experimenting with new artistic techniques including etchings and chine-colle. Through these years, she exhibited at numerous galleries presenting solo shows in Toronto, Houston and Hong Kong. Oksana moved to Edmonton in 2003, the city has been the setting for the next chapters of her life and career.
Oksana worked as the curator for the Steppes Complex showing a diverse range of artists there while simultaneously building an art collection for the company between 2010 and 2016. In 2012 she was awarded her first large-scale public art commission for the Ardrossan Recreation Complex. Continuing to grow her artistic language she added painting to her repertoire of skills and in 2013 showed a new series of paintings and etchings at the Peter Robertson Gallery. Always pushing to widen her vocabulary she developed a proprietary technique of drawing on gold, silver and copper leaf, later used to create imagery inlaid on hand made glass panels and bathroom vessels.
Her development as a painter resulted in a solo-show in Kyiv, Ukraine at the Gallery Art-14. The works represented her upbringing and formal education in Ukraine, overlaid with her discoveries in Canada and planted the seed for her current explorations.
In 2016, Oksana again expanded her horizons and discovered a new artistic voice. This represented a dramatic departure in the form of her artistic expression and resulted in a new body of work introduced in a two-person exhibition at the Front Gallery in 2018. This powerful new voice has become the foundation upon which she is committed to further develop in her newest series of paintings.
In 2020 Oksana was awarded her second large-scale public art commission from the Edmonton Arts Council which was completed and installed in 2021 at the Bonnie Doon LRT station.
CV
EDUCATION
1997 - Doctor of Philosophy, National Academy of Arts and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine
1994 - Masters of Printmaking, National Academy of Arts and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine
1992 - Bachelor of Printmaking, National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine
GRANTS
2016 - Cultural Diversity in the Arts Individual Project Grant, Edmonton Arts Council ($15000.00 )
2014 - Cultural Diversity in the Arts, Edmonton Arts Council ($7500)
1999 -Visual Arts Individual Grant, Ontario Arts Council ($5000)
1998 - In Support of Travel and Disbursements, Canada Arts Council ($1000)
PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS AWARDS
2017/20 - Bonnie Doon LRT Station, Edmonton Arts Council
2012 - Primary Colours of Life, Ardrossan Recreation Complex, Strathcona Arts Council
2012 - Sport, Ardrossan Recreation Complex, Strathcona Arts Council
2009 - Flora, La Piazza Dasee, Flower Market, Edmonton, Private Commission
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 - New, The Front Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2017 - Recent Works, ACUA (Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts), Edmonton, Alberta
2016 - Selected, Steppes Gallery East, Edmonton, Alberta
2015 - Return, Gallery Art-14, Kyiv, Ukraine
2014 - Recent Works, Steppes Gallery East, Edmonton, Alberta
2013 - Precious B-Side, Peter Robertson Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2013 - Mirrors, Reflections and Fire, Steppes Gallery East and West, Edmonton, Alberta
2012 - Dual Metamorphosis, Steppes Gallery East and West, Edmonton, Alberta
2011 - Perspectives, Royal Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
2011 - The Movchan Masters, Vitaly, Oksana, Yana Movchan, McCallum Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2010 - Etching and Painting on Glass, Steppes Gallery East, Edmonton, Alberta
2009 - Lightcatcher, Urban Roots Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2007 - Collection, Urban Roots Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2005- Recent Works, Profiles Public Art Gallery, St. Albert, Alberta
2004 - Contrasts, Front Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2003 - Recent Work, Artloggia Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2001 - Recent Work, National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
2000 - Uninterrupted Union of Time, Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
1999 - Sacred, Meli-Melo, Artist’s Alliance, Hong Kong, China
1999 - Recent Work, Ashton Evicta Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1999 - Heaven Falls to Earth by Flowers, Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
1998 - I Am Who I Am, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, Toronto, Ontario
1996 - Recent Work, UCAF, Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, Toronto, Canada
1995 - Recent Work, Roksolana Company, Art Division, Kyiv, Ukraine
1994 - Laterna Grafika, L&L Art Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
1994 - Recent Work, Art-Inform Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 - Women Artists, Front Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2018/04 - Artwalk, Annual Juried Show, Edmonton, Alberta
2014 - Our Art is Our Soul, Featured Artist Series, ACUA, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton
2012 - Fractured, Group Show, Steppes Gallery East and West, Edmonton, Alberta
2012 - Winter Group Show, Peter Robertson Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2011 - Art Expo, Pier-94, New York, New York, USA
2010 - Art after Hangar-X, Edmonton, Alberta
2009 - Pulled from the Vault, Selected Prints from the Collection of Anya Tish Gallery, Museum
of Printing History, Houston, Texas, USA
2008 - International Printmaking Competition, SNAP Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2002/1997 - Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Annual Juried Show, Toronto, Ontario
2001 - Wrexham Print International 2001, Wrexham Arts Centre/Yale, Memorial Gallery,
Wrexham, N. Wales
2000 - Prints Only, Group Exhibition, Praxis Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2000 - Expressions in Art, St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, Oakville, Ontario
2000 - Artists Proof Sale, Open Studio, Toronto, Ontario
2000 - Happy Nude Year! Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
1999 - Boston International Art Show, represented by Anya Tish Gallery, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA
1999 - New Figures, New Faces, UCAF, Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation Gallery, Toronto
1998 - ArtFocus 7th Annual Juried Art Show, BCE Place, Best in Show, Best in Printmaking,
Toronto, Ontario
1998 - International Print Triennial-98, Kanagawa, Japan
1998 - Best of International Printmaking, Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
1998 - 100 Prints Event, Art Auction, Open Studio Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1998 - Enter, New Members Show, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, Toronto, Ontario
1998 - Member’s Show, Colour and Form Society, The Fairways Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1997 - Christmas Auction, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, Toronto, Ontario
1997 - Christmas Show, Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1997 - Christmas Auction, Open Studio Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1997 - Christmas Auction, Etobicoke City Hall Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1997 - Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Colour and Form Society, President’s Award, Toronto
1997 - Art Works! Kitchener Outdoor Art Exhibition, Juried Show, Kitchener, Ontario
1997 - Volya (Freedom), Ukrainian Artists Exhibition, Detroit, Michigan, USA
1997 - The 19th International Independent Exhibition of Prints in Kanagawa, Japan
1996 - Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Society of Canadian Artists, Toronto, Ontario
1996 - Annual Juried Exhibition, Neilson Park Creative Centre, Honourable Mention, Etobicoke,
Ontario
1996 - The Four Oksana Exhibition, Art Foyer Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
1996 - Great Ukrainian Women Artists-96, Ukrainian National Museum of Art, Kyiv, Ukraine
1996 - The 18th International Independent Exhibition of Prints in Kanagawa, Japan
1996 - PanUkraina-95, International Biennial, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
1995 - Kyivska Grafika-94, Union of Artists of Ukraine Gallery, Best in Printmaking, Awarded by
Arts Development Fund, established by President of Ukraine L. Krawchuk, Kyiv, Ukraine
1994 - Ukrainian Artists Exhibition, Mall Gallery, London, UK
1994 - The First Fair of Ukrainian Art Galleries, Art-Inform Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
1994 - Mifiky, Art Show and Performance, Union of Artists of Ukraine Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine
1993 - Modern Prints from Eastern Europe, New Okina Gallery, Chiba, Japan
1993 - Ukrainian Pavilion, Salon International del Estudiante, Granada, Spain
1992 - Kaliningrad-Koenigsberg-92, International Printmaking Biennial, Kaliningrad, Russia
1992 - Cuprum-V, Copper Prints Exhibition, Lubin, Poland