Darlene Kalynka, an Associate Professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Thompson Rivers University (TRU), was born in Rosthern, Saskatchewan, and is of Ukrainian descent. She received her B.F.A. from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and her M.F.A. from Concordia University, Montreal. Darlene has lived in Kamloops and taught at TRU since 1988. Her artistic practice is print-based, specifically in the mediums of etching and screen-printing. In recent years Darlene brought to her artistic practice an interest in book-making. Recent bodies of artwork explore narratives of family history and of discovering her ancestral heritage while travelling to the villages of western Ukraine. Imagery of objects that convey her family’s history, such as a remnant of her grandmother’s wedding dress or the family’s scythes, form a thematic basis for Darlene’s artistic practice. Her most recent exhibitions include Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books II and III that has traveled throughout Europe, USA, and Asia. Her work has been exhibited in the “Trilateral Print Exchange: Re-Identification” in Utrecht, Netherlands, Yokohama, Japan and Vancouver, Canada, as well as in solo shows in other Canadian venues as well as in and numerous group exhibitions throughout Canada and Europe.
