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 Elena
Ilku was born in the beautiful Ukrainian city of Lviv in 1962.
She comes from an artistic family, with her father a painter and mother a
fiction editor, but it was her grandfather, an opera art director, who
influenced her most. He took the young Elena to art museums and galleries,
and it was there that her passion for painting was kindled. “I was about 12
when I visited the Pushkin Museum of Art in Moscow. For the first time I saw
beautiful works by Degas, Lautrec and others, and completely fell in love
with painting. Along with Waterhouse, Sargent and Klimt, they became my
teachers and heroes for the rest of my life,” Elena recalls.
Elena took formal courses in drawing at a young age and went on to study
History of Art and Design at the Polygraphic Academy in Lviv, graduating in
1985. After a few years working as an interior and fashion designer, Elena
switched to painting full-time, and for the last 20 years has created the
body of work that proudly bears her name.
Before coming to Canada in 2002, Elena lived and studied art in Paris and
London, which allowed her to visit the best art galleries and museums in the
world. She would spend hours in front of individual paintings in Musée
d’Orsay learning the techniques of the masters.
Elena constantly strives to balance the abstract structure of composition
with the harmonies of colour and value. She says, “The sense of discovery
fascinates me. It gives me a push to develop and mature as an artist.
Experimentation helps to improve my technique and opens new directions and
ideas for future work. I am looking for beauty in every facet of life:
passion for beauty, hunger for perfection and pure intuition – my work is a
culmination of these powerful forces.”
She states her work “does not need to be deciphered; there is no hidden
meaning. My art aims to give joy for the eyes and soul…it will never reveal
itself completely. There is always place for enigma.”
Elena Ilku’s work is represented by White Rock Gallery in White Rock, BC.
Visit www.whiterockgallery.com
to view more of her outstanding passion for her craft.
Thank you Elena, for the opportunity to share your innate artistic talent. |
