Вінніпеґ Український № 4 (28) (June 2017)

CULTURE. КУЛЬТУРА
Leo Mol:
world class artist
who lived in our midst
25th Anniversary of Leo Mol
Sculpture Garden
Text: Luba Fedorkiw
Photos: Norbert K. Iwan
orn Leonid (Hryhorijevich) Molodozhanyn on January 15, 1915 in the village of
B Polonne, Ukraine to a long line of family potters,* and at his father’s side and
within the community, Leonid apprenticed and acquired the craft of modeling
clay, using the potter’s wheel and firing clay, to create ceramics.
Breaking from tradition, Leonid decided that he wanted to study painting in Vienna,
Austria. At age 15, he became fluent in German and exposed himself to the rich history
of world art, music and theater, while
working with sculptor Frans Klimsh,
who specialized in plasticine and terra
cotta. The talented youth was accepted
into Kunst Akademie [Berlin, Germany].*
His formal art education was
at the Leningrad Academy of Arts. He
married his wife Margareth in 1943. By
1945 both resettled in Holland, where
he changed his name to Leo Mol (nom
de plume). Leo attended the Academy
of Art in The Hague.*
Leonid Molodozhanyn and his wife
immigrated to Canada in 1948, at a time
when Canada needed farmers not artists.
Mol persuaded the reluctant immigration
officer in the Hague that
he would be an asset to Canada, since
his sponsors were grain farmers and
he originated from a humble farming
village in Ukraine.
Arriving at Hudson Bay Junction near
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan during a
harsh winter on the Canadian prairies
was a stark awakening in itself. Mol
looked for immediate work and found
it in Winnipeg, where he befriended
Yakiw Maydanyk , also a painter, cartoonist
and teacher. Initially, the newly
naturalized artist assisted Maydanyk in
painting and decorating the interiors
of churches.
Local success for this soft spoken
artist/sculptor gained momentum
through his talents as a figurine artist,
focusing on Canadian themes in
ceramic. Further, his 1950s modeling
originals in terra cotta and baked in a
kiln, gained him the respected recognition
of his fellow Manitoba artists.
As he advanced his art, he received
major commissions from:1) the Canadian
government 2) the Provincial
governments of Manitoba and Alberta, 3)
The University of Manitoba, 4) international
universities, 5) Churches, 6) Communities and
7) private sponsors.
International success arrived with Leo
Mol’s magnificent executions of classic portrait
sculpture. “His understanding of and
portraying the essence of each subject, led to
major commissioned portraits”** placed in
capitals of the world.
In his extensive collection, illustrious are
the portrait busts of prominent people such
as: Prime Minister J. Diefenbaker, Dwight E.
Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth
II, Pope Paul VI, Pope John XXII, Pope
John Paul II, Cardinals Slipyj and Tisserant,
the Group of Seven painters – A.Y. Jackson,
Fred Varley and A.J. Casson. Additionally,
he created monuments to Ukraine’s beloved
poet/bard Taras Shewchenko, located in
Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, Argentina
and Prudentpolis, Brasil.
In addition, Leo Mol’s priceless art is
housed in permanent collections in North
America, international museums/galleries,
private and corporate collections. There are
22 Український Вінніпеґ - ЧЕРВЕНЬ 2017 -