Natalie Kurzuk
B.Ed, BFA, ASA
Natalie was born in Saskatchewan and has been a Calgarian since 1966. She was introduced to the "joys of art" by artists, Wynona Mulcaster in Teachers' College and Otto Roger at the University of Saskatchewan in 1960-61.
She received her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1970 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (majoring in sculpture and painting) in 1979 from the University of Calgary.
For more than 25 years, Natalie taught art in high schools in Calgary and gave art lessons to adults in her home. She has worked, studied and taught in a variety of disciplines, including drawing, printmaking, black and white photography, sculpture and painting in acrylics, watercolour and oils.
In 1975 while taking hang-gliding lessons, Natalie had a devastating accident and was paralyzed from her waist down and was told she would never walk again. Following two operations, three months in hospital, physio and sheer determination on her part, Natalie was back in the classroom eight months after her accident.
Through extensive travel during her teaching career, she visited numerous galleries in major cities and was exposed to the works of many established artists and various art movements, which have had an influence on her own work.
After retiring from teaching with the Calgary Board of Education in 1996, Natalie became a full-time artist. Besides having eleven solo shows since then, she has participated in over seventy-five group shows, including one in Kingston, Jamaica. Her "fifteen minutes of fame" came in 2004 when she showed her artwork in New York City.
Today, she is mainly a "process painter" who enjoys experimenting and incorporating found materials into her artwork. Her paintings hang in private collections in Canada, Jamaica and the USA. Natalie is an active member of the Alberta Society of Artists, the Federation of Canadian Artists, and the Leighton Art Centre.
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2009 "Artist of the month", Lougheed House, Calgary, AB
2007 "Conversations", The Herald Gallery, Victoria, BC
2005 "New Works", Terra Cotta Dudes Gallery, Black Diamond, AB
2004 "Tea and Roses", Leighton Centre, Calgary, AB
2003, 2004 "Tea Glorious Tea", Revolution Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
2003 "Steeped in Tea", The Untitled Art Society, Calgary, AB
2002 "Tea and Roses", The Station Cultural Centre, Okotoks, AB
2001 "Beneath the Surface", Artspace Gallery, Calgary, AB
2001 "What Lies Beneath", Cultural Services Centre Gallery, Red Deer, AB
2001 "Rituals and Identity Re-examined", Mythic Coffees, Calgary, AB
2000 "Windows to the Soul", Centre 64 Gallery, Kimberley, BC
2000 "From the Inside Out", Calgary Jewish Centre, Calgary, AB
1999 "Windows to the Soul", The Centre Gallery, Calgary, AB
1998 "Evolution of Expressions", Centennial Library, High River, AB
1997 "A Retrospective", Expressions Gallery, Calgary, AB
2009 "Art Opens Minds", Calgary Retired Teachers' Association
2009 "Absolutely Art", FCA, Calgary Chapter, Calgary, AB
2009 "Stir Up", Art Auction, Stampede Park, Calgary, AB
2009 "Mad About Art", FCA, Calgary Chapter, Calgary, AB
2007 Sidney Fine Arts show, Sidney, BC
2007 Sooke Fine Arts Show, Sooke, BC
2007 "Canvas Unbound", Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2007 "Spring Exhibition", FCA, CAC Gallery, Victoria, BC
2006 – 2007 Oseredok Boutique, Ukrainian Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, MAN
2005 - 2006 "New Members Show", Fosbrooke Fine Arts, Calgary, AB
2004 – 2005 "Traditionally Oral", Godfrey Dean Gallery, Yorkton, SK
"Artwalk", ASA, Gallery Eleven-Eleven, Calgary, AB
"Format to Facet; Body Ornament West", Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
"Food-related Art", Image 54 Gallery, Calgary, AB
2004 "Strange Relations", 2/20 Gallery, New York, New York
2003 "Altered States", Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2003, 2004, 2009 "Members' Juried Exhibition", Leighton Foundation, Calgary, AB
2003 "Personal Adornment", The Station Gallery, Okotoks, AB
2003 "Members New Work", Platinum Art Gallery, Calgary, AB
2002, 2003 "Art on the Move", Cosmopolitan Art Gallery, Calgary, AB
2002 – 2004, 2009"Clothesline Show & Sale", Leighton Foundation, Calgary, AB
2002 – 2004 "Art on the Edge", Federation of Canadian Artists, Edgemont, Calgary, AB
2002 – 2004 "Winter Thaw", Federation of Canadian Artists, Lake Bonavista, Calgary, AB
2002 "All Chapters Juried Show", Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2001 "Twelve", Garrison Gallery, Calgary, AB
2001 "Gallery Artists, New Works", Art & All That Jazz Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
2001 "Garden Show", Art and Soul Gallery, High River, AB
2001 "Grande Dames of Innovation", The Centre Gallery, Calgary, AB
2001 "FCA Members' New Works", Artspace Gallery, Calgary, AB
2000 – 2004 "Winter Frost", FCA, Calgary Chapter, Calgary, AB
2000, 2001 "FCA Members' New Works", Calgary Chapter, Calgary, AB
2000 "Portrait of Self", International Women's Day, Centre Gallery, Calgary, AB
2000 "Heritage Show", Art and Soul Gallery, High River, AB
1999 "Brushstrokes", Webster Galleries, Calgary, AB
1999 "Artwalk", Artworks Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
1999 "African Presence", The Centre Gallery, Calgary, AB
1999, 2000 "Be Our Guest", FCA members, Centre 64 Gallery, Kimberley, BC
1999 "Women Gathering and Person's Project", Centre Gallery, Calgary, AB
1998, 1999 "FCA Members' New Works", Webster Galleries, Calgary, AB
1998 – 2005 "Colours from the Light", Chamber of Commerce, Calgary, AB
1997 "Faces and Figures", The Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Federation of Canadian Artists (National), Vancouver, BC
Federation of Canadian Artists ( Calgary Chapter), Calgary, AB
The Leighton Foundation Art Centre, Calgary, AB
Reviews/Articles:
The Sunday Gleaner, Kingston Jamaica, September 19, 2004 Newspaper article, The Ritual of Tea", by Sana Rosa
The Sunday Gleaner, Kingston Jamaica, September 7, 2003
Newspaper article, "Creatively Brewed", by contributor, Sana Rose
Okotoks Western Wheel, Okotoks, Alberta, August 18, 2002 Newspaper article, "Artist discovers beauty and ceremony in used teabags".
Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, November 10, 2001 Newspaper article, "At the Galleries".
Red Deer Advocate, Red Deer, Alberta, August 18, 2001
Newspaper article, "Artist's Exhibit Steeped in Tea".
The Daily Bulletin East Kootenay Weekly, Kimberley, British Columbia June 9, 2000
Newspaper article, "Windows to the Soul".
High River Times, High River, Alberta, July 14, 1998.
Newspaper article by Frank McTighe, "Early Influences Shape Artist's Career".
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