VOLODYMYR BALAS
1906–1980
Volodymyr Balas
Graphic artist, printmaker, designer, painter, and sculptor. Born August 29, 1906 in Rohatyn, Ukraine; died April 18, 1980 in San Diego, California, USA. Balas studied atthe Polytechnic Institute in Lviv and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1932-37). He taught graphic art at the Institute of Applied Arts in Lviv (1939-1944).
Balas came to Canada in 1947 and later moved to the USA. In Winnipeg and in Toronto he worked as a window display artist for Eaton’s Department Stores. He designed the Baroque iconostasis and the mosaic tympanum for the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Volodymyr in Toronto(1952-54).
Balas participated in numerous exhibitions in Lviv, Warsaw, Moscow (1940), Sofia, Helsinki, Rome, Kyiv, Munich (1947), Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Toronto (1978, 1979), Montreal, Ottawa, and in Brazil and Mexico. Selected Collections: Library of U. S. Congress, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Hollywood, Florida; Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, Toronto; Ukrainian Museum in New York.