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In Studio with Artist Ira Hoffecker

Exhibition captures painter91裸聊视频檚 incredible journey
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- Story by Sean McIntyre Photography by Lia Crowe

It was only after she returned home from a trip to the edge of the world that Ira Hoffecker felt she needed to take a giant leap.

Nearly 20 years ago, Ira, her husband and the couple91裸聊视频檚 two young children took a break from their movie-star -studded, jet-setting lifestyle in Berlin, Germany to rent a humble RV and explore Vancouver Island. The family could never have imagined how a trip designed for reconnection would alter the course of their lives.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 like an epiphany what happened here in Canada,91裸聊视频 Ira says.

In an interview at her home studio overlooking Langford Lake, Ira takes a moment to reflect on her life in Europe, noting how daring acts in the circus91裸聊视频攚hich she loved to attend91裸聊视频攃an mimic life. Performers would amaze awestruck audience members, sitting on the edge of their seats, with one feat of daring and bravery after another.

91裸聊视频淲hen you look at that person who does the salto mortale, there91裸聊视频檚 a special moment between when they let go [of the trapeze] and finally grab something again,91裸聊视频 she says. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 how I see life, there is always a risk that you must take to try something new, but you should never be afraid to make that jump. You cannot discover a new coast without leaving the other one.91裸聊视频

Ira91裸聊视频檚 great leap from her career as an A-list cinema publicist, accustomed to hopping between the cities of Europe with the silver screen91裸聊视频檚 most recognizable faces, may have been momentarily disorienting, but she has certainly landed on her feet.

91裸聊视频淏efore moving to Canada, and before I began to study art formally 17 years ago, there was not a lot of time for painting at all,91裸聊视频 she says. 91裸聊视频淭he career shift happened somewhat gradually. At the beginning, I didn91裸聊视频檛 see it as a career shift at all. I just needed a long sabbatical from my work in the film industry and the medium I turned to was art.91裸聊视频

She began by transferring her perception of the world around her onto canvas. Ira soon enrolled at the Vancouver Island School of Art, where she earned a diploma of fine art and became an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. She has since pursued and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and then a Master of Fine Arts degree.

Her earliest abstract works grew from a lifelong interest in maps. She blended these pragmatic images with her observations of the urban landscape, creating works that challenge the viewer91裸聊视频檚 perception of reality with ad-hoc shapes, off-set angles and multi-faceted layering.

One such piece features the grim, monolithic layout of a concentration camp layered with textured concrete tones and violent splashes of red. A more recent piece created during a residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina91裸聊视频攋ust prior to the global pandemic91裸聊视频攊s based on the map of that city91裸聊视频檚 Parque de la Memoria with infusions of vibrant colours and patterns that evoke a mix of art deco, art nouveau and Argentina91裸聊视频檚 homegrown Mad铆 art movement.

In both cases there is the pain. The layers of each work contribute to the story that Ira tells of a specific place and time.

91裸聊视频91裸聊视频業 translate how the city feels and the historic knowledge of the city into an abstract painting,91裸聊视频 she says. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 my personal interpretation of a place in time. My work used to be much more specific, there were specific maps and buildings. That has shifted over time. Then I began to develop paintings that involve both organic and geometric forms, where aspects of one form concentration informed the other.91裸聊视频

Pieces for her latest exhibition, Transitions, scheduled to run at Victoria91裸聊视频檚 Fortune Gallery (537 Fisgard Street) from May 1 through May 23, were completed at her Langford studio, where her environment features a distinctively West Coast blend of evergreen woods, water and the ever-changing urban geography in one of the country91裸聊视频檚 fastest-growing communities.

With few exceptions, the works that make up the Transitions show have all been created since the pandemic began more than a year ago. What began as a period rife with claustrophobia and a sense of paralysis quickly set roots for a new routine and a new perspective. Like so many others faced with a spring lockdown, Ira found herself in her garden, wrist deep in topsoil and seedlings.

91裸聊视频淚 couldn91裸聊视频檛 even go through Langford, and so I painted what I saw,91裸聊视频 she says. 91裸聊视频淚 always have a good connection to where I am, so I began translating my experience here, and this evolved into extensive flower studies that resulted in a whole series.91裸聊视频

As spring turned to summer, the flower series grew into larger works in which maps reasserted themselves. The distant top-down view of earlier pieces, however, was replaced with a greater sense closeness, intrigue and suspense. It91裸聊视频檚 a new perspective, perhaps a result of a pandemic-induced introspection and a renewed sense of place.

91裸聊视频淲hat I do now is definitely an urban space, but it isn91裸聊视频檛 a specific city anymore. I91裸聊视频檓 moving away from that, it91裸聊视频檚 not a specific map, it91裸聊视频檚 not a specific architecture, but I91裸聊视频檓 playing with perception and exploring depth,91裸聊视频 she says. 91裸聊视频淚 always looked at things from above and now, with these latest paintings, all of a sudden I have a foreground, and I enjoy that. I like to explore with that and work with this different perception. It shifts the work in a way that allows me to play with depth when I add the foreground.91裸聊视频

The paintings and portraits on the walls of her home capture Ira91裸聊视频檚 transition. An enormous abstract map of colours on canvas hangs on her living room wall, just around the corner from a lineup of signed celebrity photographs from another life. It91裸聊视频檚 a reminder of where she91裸聊视频檚 come from, a tribute to that great leap from there to here, the need to sacrifice a comfortable present for an uncertain future. Charting a new course represents Ira91裸聊视频檚 personal salto mortale, and it91裸聊视频檚 an inspiring transition she has accomplished with grace and sophistication.

More information about Ira91裸聊视频檚 work is available at irahoffecker.com. Details about her Transitions exhibition can be accessed at: .

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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