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The Ukrainian Echo, Toronto, Canada, December 1999
Leo Mol Retrospective at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation
By Christina Welyhorsky Senkiw
The Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation in Toronto launched the new season with an extraordinary exhibition, a retrospective of celebrated Canadian sculptor Leo Mol's work, titled "Leo Mol - Fifty Creative Years in Canada". The Gallery of the UCAF was completely renovated last summer and the Board of Directors was determined to open the new season in the new space with a blockbuster show.
The salute to Leo Mol, from September 19 to 30, included: an Anniversary Banquet at Toronto's St. Vladimir Institute on September 18; an Official Exhibit Opening at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation Gallery on September 19; and a Leo Mol Film Screening, also at the Foundation's Gallery on September 21.
The events were put together by a dynamic Organizing Committee: Taissa Ruzycky (Chair), Tatiana Vanderheyden, Iryna Wrzesnewskyj, Bohdan Holowacki, Marichka Duncan, Daria Darewych, Halyna Levytsky, Oleh Lesiuk, Tania Melnyk, and Christina Senkiw. The committee worked diligently throughout the summer to create a memorable cultural event for maestro Leo Mol and the community. Undeterred by the sweltering Toronto heat, and by construction noise and dirt inside the gallery, they met every Monday around a makeshift plywood table to plan the celebrations.
Within an amazingly short span of time, the Curatorial Committee under Daria Darewych, located and catalogued 30 pieces of sculpture. In addition to the 7 Leo Mol pieces in the Permanent Collection of the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, many generous contributors loaned their prized artworks for the retrospective: 8 sculptures from MST Bronze Ltd.; 4 from Beckett Fine Art Ltd.; and 1 from the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Also, many private collectors - Mr. Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Dr. and Mrs. A. A. Hornich, Dr, Irena Lukasewych-Dziki, Dr. Roman Curkowskyj, Mrs. Ulana Dyczok, Mr. and Mrs. L. Perfecky, the Ukrainian Basilian Fathers, Ms. Teresa Darewych, Mr. and Mrs. M. Wawryshyn and several anonymous individuals - volunteered their Leo Mol sculptures for the exhibit. Maestro Leo Mol, very generously, surprised the Organizing Committee with an enormous shipment of paintings, drawings, prints and photographs from his own collection to complete the show.
Daria Darewych wrote an article about Leo Mol, which appeared in the press before the exhibit, and a 12-page catalogue containing a scholarly essay and a detailed list of the contents of the show. Eye-catching posters and invitations were designed and produced by Oleh Lesiuk and Bohdan Holowacki. Marichka Duncan spearheaded the fundraising campaign, while Tania Melnyk acted as treasurer. Banquet preparations were set in motion by Tatiana Vanderheyden.
Word of mouth spread rapidly, and soon donations and reservations began to flow into the office. The banquet sold out a week in advance. Two hundred and twenty guests filled St. Vladimir Institute's banquet hall, and more than 200 patrons packed the UCAF Gallery for the Official Exhibit Opening.
Leo Mol and his wife Margareth arrived early from Winnipeg to prepare for the festivities. Escorted by hosts Roman and Iryna Wrzesnewskyj, they inspected the exhibit as it was being installed in the UCAF Gallery. Interior designer Irka Sochaniwskyj, of "Designfarm", assisted by Oleh Lesiuk and Bohdan Holowacki, expertly sorted the sculptures into groups: Shevchenkiana, Politicians, Church Fathers, Nudes, Ukrainian Themes and Nature. A selection of paintings, drawings, prints and photographs was hung on the walls to provide appropriately themed backgrounds for the groups of sculptures.
The Official Opening
Over 200 excited art lovers, from as far as Edmonton, and as near as Hamilton, pressed into the gallery - almost crowding out the sculptures they came to see. Hostess Marichka Duncan calmed the agitated crowd and proceeded briskly through the program. Welcoming remarks and congratulations were conveyed by: Roman Wrzesnewskyj, Chair of the Board of Directors; Robert McNeill, President of the Sculptors Society of Canada; Andrij Babytsch, President of the Society of Ukrainian Artists of Canada; Irena Moroz, Chair of the Cultural Council of the World Congress of Ukrainians; and Toronto's Mayor Mel Lastman.
Guest speaker Joan Murray, Director of the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, expressed her delight at discovering Leo Mol's work, specially his powerful portraits of prominent individuals. All the formalities were concluded in 30 minutes - a new record for brevity in this gallery. As pianist Taras Chmil tickled the ivories of the baby grand piano, award-winning Canadian wines flowed profusely, and delectable cheeses and pates were avidly consumed by the assembled culturati.
The Anniversary Banquet
Interior designer Tatiana Martschenko, of "T-Squared", imbued St. Vladimir Institute's banquet hall with a dash of Mediterranean charm. Twinkling lights, wrapped in gauze and suspended from the ceiling, re-created a starry night sky, while a dozen life-size reproductions of Leo Mol's sculpture "Nude", arranged around the room in a column-like fashion brought to mind the architecture of a Greek temple. To complete the Mediterranean illusion, exotic floral scents wafted from the bouquets on the tables decorated with sparkling candles. 220 elegantly attired banqueters consumed a gourmet Cornish hen dinner with intense concentration - the consumption of this delicacy requiring an almost surgeon-like dexterity. After the feast, harpist Alyssa Mychalsky of Ancaster, caressed the strings of the heavenly instrument in a soothing performance of Pachelbel's "Canon in D" and a medley of Ukrainian folksongs.
Christina Bidiak, perennial mistress of ceremonies, hosted the banquet with great skill and just the right amount of formality. Maestro Mol and his wife Margareth were greeted by Mr. Roman Wrzesnewskyj, Chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation and Mrs. Ariadna Stebelsky, President of the Association for the Development of Ukrainian Culture. The highlight of the evening was Dr. Daria Darewych's scholarly overview of Leo Mol's life and work - illustrated by an extensive selection of slides, which gave the viewers an opportunity to admire Mol's monumental sculptures located in various cities around the world. Leo Mol graciously thanked everyone for their work in preparing the retrospective, and the Mols were showered with flowers and gifts from the Organizing Committee.
The Film Screening
An intimate group of Leo Mol fans, artists and film buffs gathered in the Gallery of the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation on September 21 to see the movie "Leo Mol: in Light and Shadow" - an excellent hour-long film produced by the National Film Board of Canada. After the film, Daria Darewych introduced Leo Mol and encouraged questions from the audience. The topic of the moment was the controversy over the installation of Mol's statue of Taras Shevchenko in St. Petersburg, Russia not Florida. Leo Mol explained that presently the project is tied up in red tape, but that he hopes to see a positive resolution of the problem by the year 2000.
To conclude the evening, a special thank you was given to Canadian sculptor Leo Mol for his lifelong dedication to his art and for producing so many wonderful sculptures for the whole world to enjoy.
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