Katie Ohe, AOERCA LL. D. (born Katherine Dorothea Minna von der Ohe[1] in 1937, near Peers, Alberta) is a
sculptor living in
Calgary,
Alberta. Ohe is known as one of the first artists to make
abstract sculpture in Alberta, and has been influential as a teacher at the
Alberta College of Art and Design. She is best known for her abstract and kinetic sculptures. [2]
Biography
She began her studies at the
Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary (then the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art) 1954 to 1957 under the guidance of pioneer modernist artist
Marion Nicoll.[3][4]
Other influential instructors were
Illingworth Kerr, Stan Blodgett,[5] Ken Sturdy and ceramist
Luke Lindoe. Lindoe invited her to work at Ceramics Arts in the summer of 1957,[6] where she worked alongside
Walter Dexter, Walt Drohan,[7] Luke Lindoe and Pat Banks (Drohan). She was awarded a
National Gallery Study Award to study child art education with
Arthur Lismer at the Montreal School of Art and Design,[8]Montreal Museum of Fine Arts 1957 to 1958.[9] While in
Montreal, she was impressed by an exhibition of the planar work of Anne Kahane.[10][11] On her return to Calgary, she rented a property in the grounds of the famous Hart family house and taught in the child art program modeled on that of Lismer at the Coste House, Calgary, where Archie Key was Managing Director.[12] She returned to the Art Department of the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (now the Alberta College of Art and Design) to complete her fourth year and earn her diploma in 1960.
With a Green Shield Scholarship secured through the support of Marion Nicoll,[13] and the recommendation of Archie Key,[14] she went to New York City to pursue post-graduate studies for three years at the
Sculpture Center where
Dorothea Henrietta Denslow [
Wikidata] was director.[15] While there, she worked alongside sculptor
Sahl Swarz, who later invited her to
Verona, Italy[16] where she spent several summers working at the Bronze Foundry.[17]
Ohe married artist Harry Kiyooka in 1968. In 2011, the couple founded the
Kiyooka Ohe Art Centre in Calgary, to promote contemporary art.[18][19]
Teaching
Ohe taught drawing, ceramics and sculpture to adults and children at Coste House 1960-1962, and 1964-67. She taught at the
Alberta College of Art and Design (1960-1962) and 1970 until her retirement from teaching in 2016. She was sessional sculpture instructor at
Mount Royal College 1970-1982, sculpture instructor at the
University of Calgary (1978-1979), and seminar instructor at the
Banff Centre, 1978-79.[20] Her many students include notable artists
Evan Penny, Christian Eckart,
Brian Cooley, Alexander Caldwell and Isla Burns.[21]
^Grigor, Angela (2002). Arthur Lismer, Visionary Art Educator. McGill-Queen's University Press.
ISBN9780773522954.
^Gordon, Richard; Ohe, Katie; Townshend, Nancy; Ylitalo, Katherine (1991). Katie Ohe. Calgary, Alberta: The Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art. pp. 15–16.
ISBN1-895086-16-7.
^Gordon, Richard; Ohe, Katie; Townshend, Nancy; Ylitalo, Katherine (1991). Katie Ohe. Calgary, Alberta: The Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art. pp. 15–16.
ISBN1-895086-16-7.
^Gordon, Richard; Ohe, Katie; Townsend, Nancy; Ylitalo, Katherine (1991). Katie Ohe. Calgary, Alberta: The Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art. p. 18.
ISBN1-895086-16-7.
^Kwasny, Barbara; Peake, Elaine (1992). A Second Look at Calgary's Public Art. Calgary, Alberta: Detselig Enterprises Ltd. p. 193.
^Weir, Bruce (5 June 2013).
"A Work in Progress". Swerve. Postmedia Network Inc.
Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^Gordon, Richard; Ohe, Katie; Townsend, Nancy; Ylitalo, Katherine (1991). Katie Ohe. Calgary, Alberta: The Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art. p. 74.
ISBN1-895086-16-7.
^Ohe, Katie.
"biography". Herringer Kiss Gallery. Archived from
the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.