Hooks-Epstein Galleries presents Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak: “Turning Toward the Light” Opening Reception

Hooks-Epstein Galleries is proud to present Houston-based artist Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak’s “Turning Toward the Light”, an exhibition of mixed media compositions on paper, canvas, and wood panel. The exhibition, which will mark Bodnar-Balahutrak’s first solo show with HEG, will open on Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM with a Reception for the Artist from 5:00–7:00 P.M. *Please note: A Gallery Talk between Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak and Anna Tahinci will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2025 from 1:00-3:00 PM at Hooks-Epstein Galleries.

The artworks in “Turning Toward the Light” are Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak’s visual meditations and represent a multi-layered documentation of the current war in Ukraine against Russia. The exhibition is a tribute to Ukraine’s fight for freedom, and each artwork is meant to elicit a turning toward the light, away from darkness, to evoke pathos, express wonder, and perpetuate a discourse about one’s place in the world. Cultural/societal/political issues are filtered through her frames of reference as a visual artist and Ukrainian American, born and raised in the U.S.A., and a child of World War II refugees from Ukraine. Probing her own cultural ties and collective memory, Bodnar-Balahutrak strives to bear witness to crucial historic events that touch the common core of all humanity.

Bodnar-Balahutrak continues to explore narrative and metaphor by combining collage, text, and figuration. She draws and paints metaphoric imagery on collaged print media of historic or current events, using oil paint, resins, charcoal, and pastels. Nature-oriented images evolve through a layered process of improvising, adding and subtracting, and concealing and revealing compositional elements. In a complimentary series of narratives also in this body of work, Bodnar-Balahutrak has worked on charred wood panels layered with mixtures of resins, dried plants, seeds, and ashes. The organic materials and processes symbolize wanton destruction, in tandem with regenerative reclamation. Flora and fauna depicted in the exhibition, particularly the tall, light-seeking sunflowers, represent healing strength, protection, warmth, sustenance, unity and hope.

Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak completed her B.S. at Kent State University (OH) and studied at the Corcoran School of Art and Design, where she completed her M.F.A. in Painting at George Washington University (Washington, D.C.). She has lectured and taught studio drawing and painting classes at the University of Houston and Glassell School of Art (Museum of Fine Arts Houston). She has participated in national and international exhibitions and has been awarded artist residencies in France, Ukraine, and the U.S. The artwork of Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak has been acquired for private and public collections, including The Art Museum of South Texas (Corpus Christi), Oxford University (England), and the City of Houston’s Civic Art Collection at Hobby Airport. She was awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for the 2022-2023 academic year. In 2024, the Wright Gallery at Texas A&M University (College Station) hosted a solo exhibition of her artwork.

The exhibition will continue through February 15, 2025.