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Taras Polataiko
- born in 1966 in Chernivtsi, Ukraine
- immigrated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1990
- B.F.A., Stroganov Museum of Fine and Industrial Arts,
Moscow, Russia (major: painting, drawing); M.F.A. (painting, performance, critical
theory), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Performance artist and painter Taras Polataiko has
consistently used his work to explore political history and memory, sometimes referring to
his own Ukrainian origin. In Artist as Politician: in the Shadow of a Monument
(1992), Polataiko, explored performance as a means of challenging the installation of a
public sculpture of Ray Hnatyshyn, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian
arrival in Canada. Covered completely in bronze paint and standing completely still for
hour-long intervals in close proximity to the Hnatyshyn sculpture, Polataiko questioned
the choice to have Hnatyshyn stand for all Ukrainian-Canadians. Polataiko's performance
therefore became a way of addressing the invisibility and marginalization of the Ukrainian
people which was further underscored by the engraved pedestal where Polataiko stood, which
read "Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian settlement, in honour of those
Ukrainians who never became Governor-General." Joan Borsa commented that the
performance opened up "a space where we can participate in producing our own history.
This is the difference between art that monumentalizes and art that provokes thought,
between facade which postures and forecloses in the attempt to impress, and debate which
risks raising questions and uncertainty even in areas of which we have good reason to be
proud" (1992). Returning to his native Ukraine in 1994, Polataiko visited the
contaminated region that surrounds Chernobyl, resulting in his exposure to radioactivity.
Upon his return to Canada, the artist had his blood drawn regularly over a 14-month
period, storing it temporarily in his freezer, in order to preserve it for Cradle
(1995) an installation exhibited at the Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon. Cradle
consisted of a nickel plated bathtub suspended from anchor chains inches above the floor,
filled with the artists blood. In Cradle Polataiko investigates the
phenomenon of biological mutation, contemplates the similar dynamics of physiological
transformations and socio-political changes, and suggests that the nuclear disaster at
Chernobyl precipitated the decline of the Soviet Union. Also in 1995 Polataiko presented Glare,
an exhibition of thirteen images painted from photographs of black-and-white reproduction
of Kasimir Malevich's paintings. Malevich, also from the Ukraine, was part of a
non-objective art movement called Suprematism, which sought to authenticate the space of a
painting by avoiding traditional painterly illusion. By removing the images several times
through his various means of reproducing them, Polataiko created "a situation where
the supposedly autonomous languages of these media overlap" (quoted in Beatty, 1995).
Greg Beatty described the series, referring to the glare that resulted from Polataiko's
photographic process, which he then included as a distortion when he painted his images:
"This glare, which is common to all thirteen paintings, serves as a metaphor for
perceptual blind spots that arise through exposure to mediated information. As Ukrainian
artists, Malevich and Polataiko were required to operate in the visual/linguistic space
created by the colonizing force of Soviet propaganda. Their experience provides evidence
that these blind spots influence the development not only of personal narratives but of
cultural and historical ones as well" (1995). Polataiko continued to explore this
theme in his 1998 exhibition Scotoma, using fourteen life-sized self portraits to
explore "scotoma," the gap or dark area in a field of vision. In Canadian
Art the show was described as "a painterly metaphor for blindness, fear of the
invisible and surveillance . . ." (1998). In addition to his artistic practice
Polataiko has been a visual arts instructor at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon
(1990 to 1993), and a guest lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan (1993) and the
Ukrainian Cultural Foundation in Richmond, British Columbia (1990).
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1996 |
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan |
1995 |
Cradle
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
1994 |
Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver
British Columbia MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina,
Saskatchewan
Glare
Rosemont Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
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1993 |
Oseredok
Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre, Winnipeg, ManitobaM.F.A. Exhibition
Shellgrove Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
You: Paintings by Taras Polataiko
Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
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1988 |
Moscow Stroganov Academy of
Fine and Industrial Arts Gallery, Moscow, Russia |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1993 |
Gallery Artists
Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, British ColumbiaNew Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection of the University of
Saskatchewan
Kenderdine Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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1992 |
Artists from Ukraine
Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Saskatoon, SaskatchewanTwelve Artists from Ukraine
Plast Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
Arts Saskatchewan '92, 18th Annual Juried Exhibition
MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Open '92 Provincial Biannual Exhibition
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Exhibition by University of Saskatchewan Students
Shellgrove Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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1991 |
Biennale Lviv '91 - Revival
National Museum of Ukrainian Art, Lviv, UkraineFall Exhibition by University of Saskatchewan Graduate Students
Shellgrove Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
A.K.A. Gallery Members
A.K.A. Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Another Shellgrove Show
Shellgrove Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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1990 |
Selected Work
Kobza Gallery, Toronto, Ontario |
1989 |
Young Artists of Eastern
Europe
National Gallery Manyezh, Moscow, RussiaYoung
Artists of the Soviet Union
National Gallery Manyezh, Moscow, Russia
Provincial Exhibition
Chernivtsi Provincial Gallery, Chernivtsi, Ukraine
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1988 |
U.S.S.R. - Romania Exchange
Exhibition
Suchava, RomaniaUkrainian National
Exhibition
National Gallery of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
Moscow Provincial Young Artists' Exhibition
National Gallery Manyezh, Moscow, Russia
Provincial Exhibition
Chernivtsi Provincial Gallery, Chernivtsi, Ukraine
Annual Exhibition
Moscow Stroganov Academy of Fine and Industrial Arts Gallery, Moscow, Russia
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1987 |
Provincial Exhibition
Chernivtsi Provincial Gallery, Chernivtsi, Ukraine |
1984 |
Young Artists of the Soviet
Union
Moscow Provincial Gallery "Kuznetsky Most", Moscow, RussiaAnnual Exhibition
Moscow Stroganov Academy of Fine and Industrial Arts Gallery, Moscow, Russia
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COLLECTIONS
Moscow Stroganov Academy of Fine and
Industrial Arts, Moscow, Russia
Saskatchewan Arts Board, Regina, Saskatchewan
Ukrainian National Arts Board, Kiev, Ukraine
University of Saskatchewan, College of Agriculture, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan, Department of Art and Art History, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beatty, Greg. "Taras Polataiko.
Rosemont Art Gallery, Regina." C Magazine 45 (Spring 1995): 60. "Blood bath at the Mendel: Saskatoon artist Taras Polataiko
sees history in a tub." Western Report 11, no. 4 (12 February1996): 38-39.
Borsa, Joan. "Commemoration of Ukrainians must be
vibrant." Star Phoenix, 26 October 1992, n.p.
Enright, Robert. "Truth or glare: The formal
deceptions of Taras Polataiko." Border Crossings 15, no. 2 (Spring 1996):
18-27.
Komolova, Maryna. "Saskatoon exhibit showcases works
from Ukraine." The Ukrainian Weekly (23 August 1992): n.p.
Kosharych, Halyna. "Contemporary Ukrainian
artists." The New Pathway (13 June 1992): n.p.
Krasnoshtan, Joham. "Art from Ukraine." The
Beam (September 1992): n.p.
Lavery, John. "Taras Polataiko: A Ukrainian artist
in Saskatoon exposes the pretensions of public art." NeWest Review 19, no. 2
(December/January 1994): 9-11.
Millard, Peter. "Hail and Farewell." Border
Crossings 12, no. 3 (Summer 1993): 43-45.
"Polataiko, Taras. Mendel Art Gallery.
Saskatoon." Parachute 83 (July - September, 1996): 50-51.
Ring, Dan. Taras Polataiko: Cradle. Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan: Mendel Art Gallery, 1996.
"Saskatchewan: The list." Canadian Art
(Winter 1998): 22.
Thakkar, Anand. Taras Polataiko: Glare. Regina,
Saskatchewan: Rosemont Art Gallery, 1994.
Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre. Ty:
mysteski tvory velykoho rozmiru Tarasa Polataika/You: large scale painting by Taras
Polataika. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre, 1994. |
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