King’s Tahedl presents family exhibit in Austria

June 1, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
Human beings are unique in their imaginative forms of self-expression. Simply put, it’s who were are.
To be free to create large canvasses and have them embraced by the public is amazing. King’s Ernestine Tahedl is living proof.
A large exhibition of the Austrian-born artist and her late father, Professor Heinrich Tahedl, opened in the prestigious public Art Gallery in the Künstlerhaus in Vienna, Austria.
The official opening drew more than 250 visitors and dignitaries from both Austria and Canada, March 10.
Tahedl explained it’s a huge facility, right in the centre of Vienna, that’s been in operation since the 1800s. The artist-run gallery offers huge spaces to display the art. Tahedl presented some very large pieces that “popped” and she praised the “perfect installation.”
The majority of her works spanned the last two to three years and represent a new era in the artist’s continuing evolution. The beauty of the show was the joint presentation with her father’s works, done when he was roughly her age now. Two artists from the same family, offering different views. Those who attended said it provided an impact.
Seeing her works on display in this large space has encouraged her to keep going in this direction. Her previous pieces were not as large, but she’s going big and loving it.
She’s at the point where she’s “free” to express herself, with fewer inhibitions.
“I’m just going to go for it,” she said happily.
It’s honest expression and Tahedl’s joy and enthusiasm is unbridled.
Her pieces are abstract in nature, influenced by classical music. And “people seem to get it.”
And that gives her even more motivation to continue.
“Tahedl’s notion of liberation through art comes through her use of colour, her rendering of form, and her sensitivity to light and shadow. She is one of many European-born and educated artists who enjoyed a prolific and respectable career as artists in their adopted country. Never serving the tastes of major art movements or passing trends in art, staying true to her quest for freedom of expression guaranteed her longevity and an unbound creative spirit. Ernestine Tahedl continues to paint the kind of work she enjoys most, while reaping the benefits of recognition and well-deserved appreciation,” said past curator of the Varley Art Gallery Katerina Atanassova, who’s currently the curator of Canadian Art at the National Gallery of Canada.
Ernestine’s father Prof. Heinrich Tahedl (1907-1985) was a very well-known Artist in Austria.
Ernestine spent her formative years working in close collaboration with her father executing several public commissions in Austria.
She was born and educated in Austria and received a master’s degree in graphic art from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. She immigrated to Canada in 1963 and soon earned an international reputation for her artwork. Her studio is now based in King City.
Tahedl’s work is represented in public, corporate and private collections and galleries in Canada, United States, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Japan. She is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the Ontario Society of Artists. Her awards for her work span four decades, and include the Allied Arts Medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medal.