Reinhard Skoracki was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada in the early 1990’s. He studied at the Alberta College of Art + Design and received his B.F.A. from the University of Calgary in 1997. Reinhard Skoracki exhibits nationally and internationally including the 2015 'NordArt' , (Germany), the largest exhibition of contemporary art in Europe, the Toyamura International Sculpture Biennale, the Museum of Fine Arts in Ostrava, Czech Republic, the WG Kunst in Amsterdam, the Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China. His work has been published in ‘New Art International’ (Book Art Press, NY, 1998), ‘Artful Jesters’ (Nicholas Roukes, 2003) and ‘The Sculpture Reference Illustrated’ (Arthur Williams, 2005).
Known and well loved for his “table top melodramas”, Reinhard has completed numerous large scale commissions in recent years, including an outdoor donor recognition piece for the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation in Edmonton, Alberta, a 17 foot tall outdoor sculpture of the University of Calgary, Alberta and two multi-media installations for the Alberta Investment Management Corporation in Edmonton, Alberta. Author, Nicholas Roukes wrote about Reinhard’s work: “Unlike black humor, which presents a world gone mad and without hope, Skoracki’s art is admittedly caustic satire, but closer to Pantagruelism – the Rabelaisian philosophy of dealing with serious matters in a spirit of broad and somewhat cynical good humor.”
Education:
1992-96 Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta
Diploma with Distinction, Visual Arts, Calgary
1996-97 University of Calgary
1997 Bachelor with Distinction, Fine Arts, Calgary
Awards & Scholarships:
1993 Illingworth Kerr Scholarship
1994 L. Mckinney Scholarship for exceptional academic achievement, Provincial Government, Alberta
1995 Canadian Western Natural Gas Award
1993-95 Award Exhibitions, Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta
1996 Awarded “Best in Sculpture”, Juried Competition open to all Alberta Artists, organized by Art is Vital
2001 The Alberta Foundation of the Arts Grant
Solo Exhibitions:
1994 “Es ist seltsam im Nebel zu wandern”, Marion Nicoll Gallery, Calgary AB
1997 “Kali Yuga“, Art is Vital Gallery, Calgary, AB
1999 “Pull The Plug, The Water Is Boiling”, Art is Vital Gallery, Calgary, AB
2000 “Pull The Plug, The Water Is Boiling” McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, USA
2001 “Es ist seltsam im Nebel zu wandern”, Ludwig Windhorst Haus, Lingen, Germany
2001 ”Shadow“, Art is Vital Gallery, Calgary, AB
2001/02 “Kafkaesque”, Art is Vital Gallery, Calgary, AB
2005 “Black Fly On White Wall”, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2006 “Glimpse Into The Present”, The Prairie Art Gallery, Grande Prairie, AB
2007 “Black Cloud, Silver Lining”, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2007 “Sit-uations”, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2009 “Floating”, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2011 “Detours”, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2013 “Stories” Kurbatoff Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Selected Group Exhibitions:
1994 “Selected Work”, Sculpture Show, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
1995 Little Gallery, University of Calgary, AB
1996 Little Gallery, University of Calgary, AB
1996 Grad Show, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
1996-2004 Art is Vital Gallery, Calgary, AB
1999 Toyamura International Sculpture Biennale ‘99’, Juried Exhibition, Japan
2000 “Show Me The Shoe”, Juried Exhibition, City Museum, St. Louis, USA
2000 “Kaleidoskope”, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
2000 “Kaleidoskope”, Museum of Fine Arts, Ostrava, Czech Republic
2000 “Kaleidoskope”, WG Kunst, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2003 Toyamura International Sculpture Biennale ‘2003’, (Juried), Japan
2003 “Pulse”, Polish Community Centre, Calgary, AB
2004 The Art Ark Gallery, Kelowna, BC
2004 Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2004 “Migration in the Third Dimension: Tradition and Innovation in Canada and the Cyclades”, Tinos, Greece
2004 Migration in the Third Dimension: Tradition and Innovation in Canada
and the Cyclades, Triangle Gallery of Visual Arts, Calgary, AB
2005 “Figure Works”, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2005 “Form-Space-Concept-Metaphor”, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
2005 “Container/Contained”, Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA, USA
2005 “In-Dependant Thoughts”, The Art Ark, Kelowna, BC
2006 “Soliloquies”, Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2007 “Summer Sculpture Show”, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
2007 “Images and Reflections”, Gallery Kruh, Ostrava, Czech Republic
2007 “Images and Reflections”, Gallery “G”, Olomouc, Czech Republic
2007 The Moorings Gallery, Mahone Bay, NS
2007 Toyamura Juried International Sculpture Biennale, Japan
2008 “Images and Reflections”, Galeria ZPAP “Pryzmat”, Krakow, Poland
2008 “Images and Reflections”, PGS State Gallery of Cont. Art, Sopot, Poland
2008 “Images and Reflections”, ‘At the Jesuits’, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Poznan, Poland
2008 “Images and Reflections”, Contemporary Art Gallery, Kalisz, Poland
2008 “Images and Reflections”, Contemporary Art Gallery, Zamosc, Poland
2008 “Seven Contemporary Canadian Sculptures from Calgary”, Lu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2008 “Westward Ha”, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
2008 “Images and Reflections”, Galeria ‘V Podkrovi’, Contemporary Art Gallery, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
2009/10 “Artists from Coast to Coast”, Hollander York Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2012 Kurbatoff Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Publications:
1997 New Art International, Woodstock, NY
1999 Marcela Salamanca, “Reinhard Skoracki: Intense and Provocative”, Gauntlet, Pg. 18, Nov. 25, 1999
2000 Diane Bellissimo, Style at Home Magazine, Pg. 162/163, October Issue
2000 Western Living Magazine, October Issue, Cover Page, April 2000
2001 “Light, Shadows, Living Souls on Ladders”, Lingener Tagespost , German Newspaper, March 16. 2001
2001 “Creations to Develop Critical Conciousness”, Lingener Tagespost, German Newspaper, March 2001
2001 Monique Westra, “Beneath the Surface”, Artichoke, Summer 2001
2001 ‘Where’ Calgary Magazine Gallery/ Gallery Guide, “Sketches: Reinhard Skoracki”, Fall 2001
2001 Mary-Beth Laviolette,,“ Critic’s Pick“, Calgary Herald, Nov.15, 2001
2002 Wes LaFortune, “Visual Impact Strikes Deep”, Calgary Real Estate News, Pg. A4., Nov. 25, 2002
2002 Mary-Beth Laviolette, “A Symbiosis of Art and Literature”, Calgary Herald, Pg. D 13, Nov. 15, 2002
2003 ACAD Alumni News, “Alums on the Move”, Issue # 6
2004 Wes LaFortune, “It’s a Small World”, FFWD Weekly, Pg.29 Feb.12-18,
2004 Karoline Czerski, “Who says Size Doesn’t Matter?” The Gauntlet, Pg.15, Jan. 22.
2004 Wes LaFortune, “Alberta Artists Raise Funds for Greek Cultural Olympiade”, FFWD Weekly, March 18
2004 Book Publication, “Artful Jesters” by Nicholas Roukes
2004 “Migrations” by Jill Sawyer, Gallery West Magazine, Fall/Winter Pg.46
2005 Book Publication, “The Sculpture Reference Illustrated” by A.Williams
2005 ACAD Alumni News, “Alumni Highlights”
2005 Kyra Hoggan, “The shapes of things to come”, Calgary Sun Spring 2005, Pg. 10&11
2005 Bellerini Literati Magazine, “The Viewing Room”by Chlarissa Upchurch, Modena, Italy
2006 Wes LaFortune, “Reinhard Skoracki – Balance and Struggle”, Galleries West Magazine (Cover/Feature Artist) Spring Issue
2006 Rinne Diana, “Sculptors featured in new exhibit”, Herald Tribune, Encore Newspaper, Grand Prairie, AB
2007 Tumbull Glenna, “Puls”, Kelowna Newspaper, Kelowna, BC, May 2
2007 Amusch Shelly, “The Shape of the City”, Swerve Magazine, (Calgary Herald), Pg. 15, June 1-7
2007 Dubeau Janelle, “ Six Calgary sculptors take over the Triangle Gallery”, FFWD Magazine, Pg.44, June 14-20
2008 “Z Calgary do Sopotu“, by W. Panstwowa, Sztuka, Pg. 13. Jan.4, Poland
2008 Sopot Newspaper, “Patchwork” by Tadeusz Skutnik , Jan. 2008, Poland
2008 “Polecamy, Calgary w Zamosciu” by Janusz Kawalko, Zamosc Newspaper, May, Poland
2008 "The shape of Canadian artistic thinking“ Shanghai Daily, by Wang Jie, Nov. 16.
2009 FFWD “Humour and occasional beauty” by Jocelyn Grosse, Aug. 13.
2011 Burroughs Alexandra, “Artwalk kicks of with landmark unveiling“, Calgary Herald, Front Page & Pg. D9, Sept. 16
2011 “Revelation”, Pg. B4, Calgary Herald, Sept. 17
2013 Vancouver Sun “Sculptural Storytelling” by Elizabeth Godley, Feb., BC
Interviews:
1997/2001TV Channel 8: Solo Exhibition at the Art is Vital Gallery, Calgary, AB
2001 TV Channel 8: Solo Exhibition at the Art is Vital Gallery, Calgary, AB
2002 CBC Radio, Arts Report
2005 Shaw TV: Solo Exhibition at Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
Professional Activities:
2000 Curator, “Beneath the Surface”, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
2000 Lecture, Youngstown University, USA
2004 Curator, “MiniARTure”, Triangle Gallery Calgary, AB
2008 Co-Curator, “Westward Ha”, Triangle Gallery, Calgary, AB
2008 Lecture, BWA Gallery Zamosc, Poland
Freelance writer for the award-winning German-Canadian Newspaper for the Province of Alberta
Member of the Artist Circle Calgary, AB
Commissions:
2010 Donor wall. Site specific multi-media sculptural installation for the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, AB
2011 16 feet bronze sculpture outside the EEEL Building, University of Calgary, AB
2011 Two site specific multi-media sculptural installations for Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Edmonton, AB
2012 “Sacred Space” large multi-media installation for Holy Trinity Academy, Okotoks, AB
Various Collections:
The Civic Art Collection of Calgary
The Alberta Foundation of Art
In Canada, USA, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, Japan, France, Italy and China.