About the Artist

About

Yanina (Yana) Movchan was born in Kiev in 1971.

Yana’s sublime mastery of the technique and structure of Renaissance painting combines with the instinctive symbolism of “magical realism” to create a personal neo-realist idiom. Her work is formal, yet playful; contemporary, yet timeless; and joyous, yet  mysterious, evocative and dreamlike.

In Yana’s paintings, the intellectual and the emotional synthesize to form images that touch the viewer’s heart whilst issuing a challenge: there are deeper meanings to be unraveled, hidden clues amongst the hyper-real still lives, portraits and animal scenes; meanings which echo deep in the unconscious mind. Reviewers have compared Movchan’s work to Velasquez, Colville and Magritte.

Yana trained at the Ukrainian Art Academy. Her master’s thesis project (a triptych entitled “Life on Earth”) won the Golden Fund Prize, the Academy’s highest art award. Her work has featured in solo and group exhibitions in the Ukraine, Prague, London and Canada. She is based in Halifax, Canada, where she lives with her husband and two young sons.

AWARDS/HIGHLIGHTS

• 2007 Glenn Gould Foundation commission. Commemorative portrait of the celebrated pianist to mark the 75th anniversary of his birth.
• 2001 Best Painting Award, Annual Juried Show, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
• 1995 Golden Fund Prize (the highest art award in the Ukrainian Art Academy) for “Life on Earth” (triptych, oil on canvas)
• 1989 Ukrainian Art Academy Award of Excellence for "Thoughts of Harmony" (oil on canvas). Painting accepted into the National Art Museum of Ukraine collection. “Thoughts of Harmony” received the highest possible marks and was later purchased by the Museum.

EDUCATION

• 1993-1995 Ukrainian Art Academy, Kiev, Ukraine
  Master of Fine Arts in Painting
• 1989-1993 Ukrainian Art Academy, Kiev, Ukraine
  Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting
• 1982-1989 Ukrainian Republican School of the Arts, Kiev, Ukraine

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

• 2007 Glenn Gould Commission
  Glenn Gould Foundation, Toronto, Ontario Canada
• 2003 “Still Life”
  YYZ Artist Outlet Gallery,
  Toronto, Ontario Canada
• 1998 Solo Exhibition
  Sponsored by Art World of Sherway
  Toronto, Ontario Canada
• 1995 Solo Exhibition
  Sponsored by Art-In Form Gallery
  Kiev, Ukraine
  
• 1995 “Life on earth” Golden Fund Prize winner
  Ukrainian Art Academy Museum
  

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• 2005 “Fuzzy”
  Oakville Galleries Group Exhibition
  Oakville, Ontario, Canada
• 2002 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
  Toronto, Ontario Canada
• 2001 “Best of Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition” award winners group show
  First Canadian Place Gallery
  Toronto, Ontario Canada
• 2001 "Group Show" dedicated to the Tenth Anniversary of the Independence of Ukraine
  Svit Ozor Fine Arts
  Santa Barbara, California, USA
• 2001 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
  Best Painting Award (sponsored by The Globe & Mail)
  Annual Juried Show
  Toronto, Ontario Canada
• 2000 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
  Annual Juried Show
  Toronto, Ontario Canada
• 2000 Annual Exhibition
  Etobicoke City Hall Art Gallery
  Etobicoke, Ontario Canada
• 2000 "Flowers"
  Svit Ozor Fine Arts Gallery
  Santa Barbara, California USA
• 1996 European Fair
  Sponsored by Laura Gallery
  Kiev, Ukraine
• 1995 Ukrainian Artists Exhibition
  Sponsored by Art-In Form Gallery
  Prague former Czech Republic
• 1994 First Galleries Fair
  Sponsored by Art-In Form Gallery
  Prague former Czech Republic
• 1994 Women in Art
  Sponsored by Slavutych Gallery
  Kiev, Ukraine
• 1994 Young Artists of Ukraine
  Sponsored by "Molodist" -94 (Youth-94)
  Kiev, Ukraine
• 1994 Artists of Eastern Europe
  Sponsored by Mall Galleries
  London, England
• 1989 The All Republic's Exhibition
  The National Art Museum of Ukraine
  Kiev, Ukraine