 map and funnel 1999
etching, lithography, relief, screenprint, 39.5” x 29.75” |
Helen Gerritzen lives and works in Edmonton/ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (amiskwacîwâskahikan).
Her work uses objects to evoke a feminist interpretation of iconography, symbol and myth relating to the female body in old and new stories. Her material processes include working within the disciplines of drawing, printmaking, photography and painting. Gerritzen received an MFA from the University of Alberta in 1999, where she taught Printmaking and Drawing, and coordinated the Drawing program for the Department of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in numerous juried and invited exhibitions. Harvard Review published several of her print works in its 39th edition, Fall/Winter 2010. Together with artist Kyla Fischer in 2023, Gerritzen executed a design for an Edmonton public art commission called the SuperTrain. Images covering the interior and exterior of an LRT train celebrate the Edmonton Community garden and environmental stewardship in an urban setting. Gerritzen has also curated exhibitions, edited exhibition catalogues and presented artists talks in Canada and the US. A move to Houston, Texas in 2010 and a subsequent relocation to a rural community in England initiated a major shift in her professional artistic career. She is grateful to be back in Canada working in her newly built studio and tending her community garden. Gerritzen speaks a German reminiscent of the 1950s, and holds dual citizenship with Canada and Germany. The Chinese have censored her work. |