Vladimir Horik

Vladimir Horik

Vladimir Horik was born in 1939 in Edmonton, Alberta, into a family of Ukrainian origin.  He spent most of his childhood on a farm in Alberta until his family moved to Yoho National Park in British Columbia. In 1957, he enrolled in the Canadian army and in his capacity as a paratrooper and expert in communications, he had the opportunity to live in several Canadian provinces.

In the early 1960s, he chose to settle in the province of Quebec where he married Renée Tremblay, then history professor; they had two sons. After nine years spent serving his country, he reoriented his life and decided to undertake formal art studies.

Before receiving his diploma from École des Beaux-Arts de Québec and a teaching certificate in arts from Université Laval, he spent one year exploring Europe and North Africa, in search of new horizons.

He travelled extensively the mountainous roads of his childhood in Western Canada and those of the province of Quebec, his adoptive land. Then he stayed briefly with his family in Banff National Park in Alberta, an enchanting place which he had chosen as a source of inspiration. But he left that superb area after realizing that he had truly been taken by the mountains of Charlevoix and the warmth of its people. So he finally settled in Saint-Hilarion, located in the in the UNESCO protected Charlevoix region located in the heart of the province of Quebec.

In the early 1970s, he commuted weekly between Saint-Hilarion and Quebec City to give drawing and painting lessons while painting and taking part in various exhibitions.  Then, with the construction of a big studio, he was able to give lessons at home.  These courses, attended by people from all walks of life, were an extremely pleasant and enriching experience, which helped him to gradually prepare and adapt to his new solitary country life.  From 1976 on, his reputation as an artist grew enough to allow him to stop giving lessons and devote himself exclusively to painting.

Today, on his forestry farm in Charlevoix, he is firmly rooted in the place he has meticulously fashioned to find peace and to draw the inspiration which he uses with the discipline of an ex-soldier.

For more than twelve years, he has been enlarging his scope of activities mostly by working closely with his son and agent, Martin, on various special and interesting projects. His record of achievements extends over more than 35 years and has been enhanced by major exhibitions and special projects. His art is featured in a growing number of public and private collections on four continents.

Due to his rich palette of colours and the brightness of his paintings, Vladimir Horik is known as the "Alchemist of Colours"