Artist Statement
Something inside me has reached to the place where the world is breathing.
– Kabir
Helena Hadala uses the medium of oil paint to create imagery that evokes a poetic response to nature. The paintings, a type of visual haiku, are individual expressions that reflect Helena’s inner life and are not solely about a style of painting. Helena aims to experience nature as a spiritual perception through her eyes as well as from behind her eyes. She begins a painting without a preconceived idea and allows for it to evolve through an intuitive process by applying many layers of colour, shapes and textures to ultimately create a harmonious, open-ended composition. Plasticity of oil paint is an ideal medium to create imagery that can evolve through the painting process and has the potential for many nuances. The continual interplay between intellect and intuition, idea and action creates an ambiguous spatial middle ground, open to individual interpretation. Contemplation becomes visible and takes on tangible form and the paintings become a type of innerscape reflecting rather than depicting Hadala’s perceptual world.
Artist Bio
Helena Hadala, born and raised in Calgary, is an elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts. She received her MFA degree with a major in Drawing from the University of Calgary in 2002. She has exhibited in Canada, the USA, Japan, Finland, Poland and most recently, Portugal. Over the years Helena has traveled extensively and participated in international residencies including Australia and Spain. Recipient of numerous scholarships, grants and awards, she has maintained a full time studio practice for over forty years. Her work is in numerous private, public and corporate collections including Canada Council Art Bank and the Alberta Foundation of the Arts.
Helena Hadala, RCA
Headshot by: John Heerema
