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Ira Hoffecker - Bio
IRA HOFFECKER CURRICULUM VITEA AND BIOGRAPHY
Ira Hoffecker is a German-Canadian artist. Relocating from Germany to Canada in 2004, now a Canadian citizen, she resides and maintains her art practice in Victoria, Canada. She is an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.
In August 2018 Ira achieved an MFA degree from Plymouth University in England and Transart Institue, New York, N.Y. Ira achieved a First Class Bachelor (Honours) in Fine Art from the University of Gloucestershire, England in 2015.Previously, Ira studied art at the Vancouver Island School of Art in Victoria, Canada where she obtained a Diploma of Fine Arts in 2013.
Ira has exhibited in solo, duo and group exhibitions in England, Canada and Germany. In 2015, Ira was one of 20 UK graduates whose work was shortlisted for the Graduate Art Prize in London. She won the first prize in the juried ‘Abstract Show 2015’ in Vancouver with her painting Alexanderplatz VIII. Her Camp Moschendorf II painting was shortlisted for the John Moore Painting Prize 2016. The painting was exhibited at the 2016 Liverpool Biennial.
Ira’s film Meanwhile in La La Land was chosen for the Official Selection at the Manchester Film Festival 2018 and was nominated for Best Documentary at the Back in the Box Film Festival in Los Angeles in 2017. Her video History as Personal Memory was chosen for the Official Selection in reserve for the German United Film Festival in Berlin in 2018.
Education
2016 - 2018 Plymouth University, England and Transart Institute, NYC, USA
M.F.A. August 2018
2014 – 2015 University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, England,
First Class Honours B.A. in Fine Art - June 2015
2013 – 2014 University of Victoria, Canada
Design, Printmaking, Sculpture and Media Technologies
2012-2013 Emily Carr University in Vancouver, Canada
Aboriginal B.C. Art History
2007 – 2013 Vancouver Island School of Art, Victoria, Canada
Diploma of Fine Arts
1981-84,85-86 Sprachen- und Dolmetscher Institut, Munich Germany
French and Economics
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2021
- Transitions, The Fortune Gallery, Victoria, May 2021
2019
- History as Personal Memory, The Front Gallery, Edmonton, November 2019
- Conjunction. Zack Gallery in Vancouver BC Canada. June 13 to July 21
2017
-Berlin Identities. Zack Gallery in Vancouver BC Canada. June
2016
-Urban Identities. The Front Gallery. Edmonton AB Canada, October/November
-Urbane Welten. Kunstraum Tapir. Berlin Germany. February
2015
-Urbane Welten. Ira Hoffecker. Freiheitshalle. Hof Germany, October to December
-Urban Settings. Sewell Centre Art Gallery, Radley College, Abington/Oxford, September
2014
-Urban Layers. 1580 Gallery. Victoria BC Canada. June
-Urban Layers. Upstairs Gallery. University of Victoria, Victoria BC Canada. March
2013
-Urban Reflections. The Front Gallery. Edmonton AB Canada, October/November
-Urban Reflections. The Gallery at Matticks. Victoria BC Canada. July
-Urban Reflections. The Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery. Sooke BC Canada. April
-Urban Reflections. Axis Contemorary Art Gallery. Calgary AB Canada.
2012
-The Gallery at Mattick’s. Victoria BC Canada. May
-The Gallery at the MAC. Victoria BC Canada. October-December
2011 - Ira Hoffecker – New Paintings. The Sooke Harbour House Art Gallery. Sooke BC Canada. February
- Urban Settings. The Front Gallery. Edmonton AB Canada, May
- Urban Settings. Dales Gallery. Victoria BC Canada. October
2010 - Ira Hoffecker. The Gallery at Matticks. Victoria BC Canada. January
Duo Exhibitions
2016 'URBAN SETTINGS' GALERIE HOFFMANN CONTEMPORARY ART in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, Germany,
March 6TH to April 16th
2015 ‘JOURNEY ELSEWHERE’ with British artist Abbie Phillips, at MENIER GALLERY, LONDON, April 2015
2012 THE FRONT GALLERY in EDMONTON, March 28th to April 12th, 2012
2012 ATTI GALLERY in TORONTO, October 15th to November 26th, 2012
2011 AXIS CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY in CALGARY, July & August 2011
2011 DALES GALLERY in VICTORIA, April 2011
2010 DALES GALLERY in VICTORIA, April 8th to May 4th, 2010
2010 AXIS CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY in CALGARY, October 7th-26th, 2010
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Solstice, Gage Gallery
2020 Christmas Exhibition, Gallery at Matticks, December 2020
2020 Context, Errant Art Space, Victoria, September 2020
2020 Out of the Silence, Gage Gallery, July 2020
2020 Capas Urbana’s, ACE, Fundacion para el arte contemporaneo,
Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 20th to March 12th
2019 Beyond Realism, The Front Gallery, March/April 2019
2019 Poetry Exhibition, Zack Gallery Vancouver, April/May 2019
2019 Abstract Exhibition, Federation of Canadian Artists gallery Vancouver, January 2019
2018 Master of Fine Arts Graduation exhibition, Berlin, August 2018
2018 Women in Art, The Front Gallery, Edmonton,Canada, August/September 2018
2018 Sooke Fine Art Show, Sooke Canada, July 2018
2018 History as Personal Memory, Slide Room Gallery, Victoria, February 16th to March 12
2017 Excavating, The Front Gallery Edmonton, August 24 to September 16
2017 To Return Again, The Slide Room Gallery, Victoria, March 10 to April 3rd
2016 Wilson Public Art Gallery, Cheltenham, England, High Street Layers Project,
January 16th to February 21st, with Symposium event on February 12th, 2016
2016 Ira's Camp Moschendorf painting was shortlisted for the British John Moores Painting prize and was
exhibited at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery during the Liverpool Biennale 2016
2015 Ministry of Casual Living, Victoria, December 2015
2015 Graduate Art Prize 2015, 1 of 20 UK graduates, September-December 2015, London
2015 GALERIE LEO.COPPI, Auguststrasse Berlin, Germany, BERLINER BILDER, June to August
2015 VISA Alumni Juried Exhibition at Winchester Galleries Victoria, July 25-August 8
2015 B.A. (honors) in FINE ART Graduation Exhibition at Hardwick Campus,
UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE, Cheltenham, England, May 29th to June 23rd
2015 B.A. (honors) in FINE ART Graduation Exhibition at Free Range Gallery Space,
London, England, June 24th to June 30th
2015 “ABSTRACT SHOW” - juried group show in Vancouver, FEDERATION OF CANADIAN ARTISTS,
April 2015, 1st PRIZE
2015 INTERSPACE - group exhibition in the project space of the University of Gloucestershire, March
2014 ART GALLERY OF GREATER VICTORIA, July, Summer Small Works group show, Massey Gallery
2014 "ABSTRACT SHOW" - juried group show in Vancouver, FEDERATION OF CANADIAN ARTISTS
April 2014, 2nd PLACE for Ira's HAMBURG HARBOUR painting
2014 Sooke Fine Art Show, Juried Exhibition, July 2014
2014 ART GALLERY OF GREATER VICTORIA, Massey Gallery, July 2014, Summer Small Works group show
2014 Active Member show at the FEDERATION OF CANADIAN ARTISTS Gallery in Vancouver, January 2014
2013 The Red Show at GRANVILLE FINE ART GALLERY IN VANCOUVER, February 2013
2013 Active Member show at the Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery in Vancouver,January
2013 DIPLOMA OF FINE ARTS GRADUATION EXHIBITION, Slide Room Gallery, Victoria, BC, June
2012 PAINTING ON THE EDGE juried group exhibition in Vancouver in August ($1000 award)
2012 U8 exhibition, SOPA FINE ARTS GALLERY IN KELOWNA in April 2012
2012 GRANVILLE FINE ARTS GALLERY in Vancouver, Christmas Group Exhibition, December
2012 SIDNEY FINE ART SHOW, October 12th to 14th, 2012, Sidney, BC, (Honourable Mention)
2012 SOOKE FINE ART SHOW, July 28th to August 6th, 2012 – (JUROR’S AWARD)
2012 1580 GALLERY IN VICTORIA in April 2012
2012 Victoria International Airport with the ART GALLERY OF GREATER VICTORIA, July to December 2012
2011 U8 exhibition SOPA FINE ARTS GALLERY in Kelowna April 2011
2011 Sooke Fine Art Show, juried art exhibition, July/August 2011
2011 Sidney Fine Art Show, juried art exhibition, September 2011, (Honourable Mention)
2011 Victoria International Airport, November and December 2011
2011 DALES GALLERY in Victoria in December 2011
2010 Sooke Fine Art Show 2010 - juried art exhibition, July 23rd to August 1st
2010 U 8 Event at SOPA FINE ARTS GALLERY in Kelowna in April 2010
2010 Sidney Fine Art Show, juried art exhibition, September 2010
2010 AGNES BUGERA GALLERY in Edmonton, June 2010
2009 Sidney Fine Art Show. juried art exhibition in October 2009
2008 Anatomy of Greys at the SLIDE ROOM GALLERY in Victoria, October 2008
2007 Inter Alia – Installation Project at THE SLIDE ROOM GALLERY in Victoria
Awards and Scholarships:
2020 One month residence, at 'ACE, Fundacion para el arte contemporaneo, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
February 2020
2016 Ira's Camp Moschendorf painting was shortlisted for the British John Moores Painting prize and was
exhibited at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery during the Liverpool Biennale 2016
2015 Together with 19 further graduates, Ira’s work was chosen for the Graduate Art Prize 2015 in London,
out of several hundred graduates from 30 UK universities
2015 1st place at the ‘Abstract exhibition’ with my painting Alexanderplatz VIII by the Federation of
Canadian Artists in Vancouver in April 2014.
2015 3 months residency in Berlin at Takt Artist Residency Programme,
January 5th to March 31st, 2016
2014 $ 6.000 scholarship from the BC Arts Council for my BFA studies in England
2012 Juror's award at the Sooke Fine Art Show
2012 $ 1,000 First Prize Opus Award at the PAINTING ON THE EDGE,
Juried, International Art Show in Vancouver
2011 Honourable Mention – Sidney Fine Art Show, juried Art exhibition, Sidney BC
2011 Honourable Mention – Look Show 2011, Community Arts Council, Victoria BC
2009 Honourable Mention – Look Show 2009, Community Arts Council, Victoria BC
Selected publicity
- cover and several pages article in the fall issue of the Jewish Senior Magazine
- 1 page in the Jewish Independent in June 2016
- 1/2 page in regional newspaper DIE GLOCKE, discussing Ira's work and announcing the exhibition at Galerie Hoffmann Contemporary Art , March 6th to April 15th, 2016
- ½ page in regional newspaper HOFER ANZEIGER, discussing Ira’s work and announcing the exhibition in the public art gallery
- ¼ in the HOFER ANZEIGER, regional daily newspaper in Germany, March 2015 announcing my upcoming solo exhibition in the fall and my first prize win in Vanvouver at the ABSTRACT SHOW from the Federation of Canadian Artists
- ½ page Times Colonist, regional daily newspaper Victoria BC, November 2012 http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/abstract-paintings-evoke-urban-europe-1.7829
- COVER PAGE and cover story of Vancouver Island FOCUS magazine, November 2012 http://focusonline.ca/?q=node/456
- Ira Hoffecker - THE ARTIST TO COLLECT – Summer edition 2013 of nationwide ARABELLA MAGAZINE, http://arabelladesign.com/Ira_Hoffecker_Summer2013.htm
- 1 page Article in monthly BOULEVARD Magazine May 2012
- TV clip from Chek News Island 30 that was aired on April 1st, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSOZQooT-co
- Times Colonist, review by Robert Amos, October 15th, 2011
- Exhibit TV in May 2012, The Gallery at Matticks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUu4cjGagRI
- http://www.vic42.com - a feature that was published on Vic42 in April 2013. Vic42 is an internet platform that introduces people from Victoria and other cities in BC
- Exhibit TV Victoria in April 2010, at Dales Gallery in Victoria: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiVJaKjSfWc
Biography:
Ira was born and raised in Bavaria, Germany. She studied French and Economics at the Muenchener Sprachen- und Dolmetscher Institut in Munich (1981 to 1984 and 1985 to 1986) and worked as a translator in Dreux in France (1984-1985) before she became head of publicity at Warner Bros. Germany.
Before Ira started to study art, she worked as a freelance marketing consultant with her own Hamburg based company for the movie industry. Her company worked for Warner Bros., Walt Disney Company, Columbia Pictures, Constantin Film, Fox, United Artists and for several other production companies in Germany and Los Angeles. From 1987 to 2004 Ira helped to promote more than 520 movies. After her professional film industry career Ira was finally able to turn intensively to what has been her lifelong interest, art. She studied art at the Vancouver Island School of Art and gained her Diploma of Fine Arts in May 2013. From 2012 to 2013 Ira also took Aboriginal BC Art History at Emily Carr University in Vancouver. She went then on to study Fine Art at the University of Victoria and then in 2014 at the University of Gloucestershire where she is gained a First Class B.A. (hons) degree in Fine Art in June 2015.
From beginning of January to the end of March 2016 Ira has been invited to a three months residency to Berlin’s TAKT ARTISTS RESIDENCIES programme. She started her MFA studies in 2016 and holds now a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Plymouth University.
