An exhibit to honor renowned sculptor Leo Mol to open in Toronto (08/29/99)

An exhibit to honor renowned sculptor Leo Mol to open in Toronto

by Daria Darewych

TORONTO - An exhibition of the work of Leo Mol, the internationally renowned Canadian sculptor, will open September 19 here at the newly remodeled gallery of the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation. The exhibition is being held to celebrate Mr. Mol's 50th creative years in Canada.

Born Leonid Molodozhanyn in 1915 in the village of Polonne in Ukraine, Mr. Mol is the most prominent and best known sculptor of Ukrainian heritage living and working in Canada. He has the distinction of being the only sculptor in North America to be honored with a park dedicated to his work.

The September 19 exhibition opening will be preceded by a banquet in Mr. Mol's honor to be held September 18 at St. Vladimir's Institute.

It has been said that Mr. Mol was born to the touch of clay. His father was a potter, and as a child he learned to work with clay. He grew up in Siberia, where his family was resettled in 1916. In 1929 the family moved to the town of Nalchyk in the Caucasus where his father continued working in a ceramic factory.

From 1936 to 1940 Mr. Mol studied sculpture at the Art Academy in Leningrad. When World War II erupted, he was sent to Austria and then Germany as a forced laborer. His abilities as a young sculptor enabled him to find work in artists' studios.

In 1943 he married and after the war he and his wife Margareth settled in The Hague, where he continued working and studying. At the end of December 1948 the Mols arrived in Canada and soon settled in Winnipeg, where Mr. Mol received his first commission.

Since then Mr. Mol has made a living as a successful artist, working not only in Canada, but also in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Argentina, Brazil and Italy.

As a tribute to his creative endeavors, a park dedicated to Mr. Mol's work was opened June 18, 1992, in Winnipeg. The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden is an open-air museum with a pavilion where over 200 sculptures are on display throughout the year.

Mr. Mol's sculpture is figurative and in the classical tradition. Most of his sculptures have been modeled in clay or plasticine, and then cast in bronze. Mr. Mol is a superb portraitist. His portrait heads, busts and figures have been the mainstay of his creativity. He has captured the likenesses and characters of such famous personalities as Winston Churchill; U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy; Candian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker; Popes John XXIII, Paul Vl and John Paul II; Queen Elizabeth II; Cardinal Josyf Slipyi and Metropolitan Ilarion. Mr. Mol executed three monuments to Taras Shevchenko: in Washington (1964), Buenos Aires (1971) and Prudentopolis, Brazil (1989).

Mr. Mol has created many beautiful nude figures of women, such as "Bather", "Dream", and "Youth", as well as genre figures: "Lumberjacks" and "Family Group". The figure of Tom Lamb with a propeller blade is a strong symbol of aviation in Canada's North. Also typically Canadian are Mr. Mol's sculptures of Polar and grizzly bears and cubs.

Ukrainian themes are reflected in his sculptures of St. Volodymyr, Anna Yaroslavna, "Blind Bandura Player", "Dancer" and "Trumpeter". "Pioneer Family" is an example of Ukrainian Canadian subject matter. The artist's accomplishments include over 80 stained glass windows for 27 churches. For the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of Ss. Volodymyr and Olha in Winnipeg, Mr. Mol designed and executed 30 stained glass windows based on the history of the Ukrainian Church.

Solo exhibitions of Mr. Mol's work have been held in Winnipeg, Banff, Kleinburg (McMichael Gallery), Toronto, Saskatoon and Munich. His works are to be found in many public and private collections, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Mendell Art Gallery in Saskatoon, the National Portrait Gallery (Washington) and the Vatican Museum.

Mr. Mol is a member and past president of the Manitoba Society of Artists, member and vice-president of the Sculptors' Society of Canada, member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, the Allied Artists of America, Munchener Kunstlergenossenschaft, and the Ukrainian Artists Association of Canada.

He has received honorary degrees from the University of Winnipeg, the University of Alberta and the University of Manitoba. Mr. Mol was honored with a gold medal by the Art Academy of Parma, Italy, in 1979 and he was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 1989.

There are two books and several films about Mr. Mol. The National Film Board of Canada film "Leo Mol: In Light and Shadow" will be screened during the exhibit on September 21.

The Leo Mol Exhibition at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, located at 2118-A Bloor St. W., will bring together over 20 bronze sculptures, as well as drawings and photographs of stained glass windows, photographs of many of the monuments, several etchings and paintings. The artist and his wife, Margareth, will be present at the opening on September 19.

The exhibition, which continues until September 30, will give Ukrainians in Toronto and vicinity an opportunity to meet the artist and see some of his accomplishments.

Daria Darewych, Ph.D. is guest curator of the 50th anniversary exhibit of Leo Mol's sculptures.

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