Her first degree from McGill University may have been in cultural anthropology, but it was her second degree in fine arts at L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) that set her career in motion. “I graduated in 1985 and the same month I graduated, I joined Atelier Circulaire, a community printmaking studio in Montreal, and this is where I became a professional artist focused on printmaking,” said Talleen Hacikyan, who has lived in Côte Saint-Luc and been married for 30 years. She and her husband have a 28-year-old son. “I’ve always been attracted to the direct techniques of printmaking. I started off doing wood cut printing and moved onto other specialties like collagraph printing and monotype printing. These are very free techniques where you can create directly through a step-by-step process.”
Most recently, Hacikyan has been combining different printmaking techniques with the installation and 3D work of paper sculptures. She exhibits regularly in group and solo shows, and a selection of her pieces are on display at the Atelier Circulaire gallery as well as online on their website. There will be a solo exhibition of her works at Maison de la culture Villebon in Beloeil starting October 22, as well as another solo exhibition, Sweet Danoise, at Espace 517 November 4-16, which includes an artist lecture by Hacikyan at the same venue on November 4 at 5 p.m. “The exhibition and talk feature my printmaking project that I did in Odense, Denmark last year, inspired by the paper cut outs of Hans Christian Andersen, who was born in Odense, where I did a month-long artist residency.”
Children’s books have also been a fun and creative way to showcase her printmaking skills. She recently partnered with author Michael Rosen in the UK for a reinventing of the popular story, Jack and the Beanstalk (Tradewind Books). It’s their second book together. Their first was Aesop’s Fables. “Much in the same vein of Aesop’s Fables, it combines acrylic paint with handprinted texture on a black background,” Hacikyan explained. “In preparation, I did a lot of free sketching without thinking of the specific scenes. One thing that was unique about this book was that I have a vegetable patch in my backyard, so I decided that I wanted to grow my own bean plants. When they were mature, I sketched and photographed them, and I picked the beans and drew them. I wanted the beanstalk to be very present in the illustrations and to convey the feeling of what it’s like to climb up and discover it, but also come down in a huge, big rush with this treasure from the castle trying not to get caught. The beanstalk becomes an important character of the story. I wanted to add a touch of realism to this fantasy look of the whole book.” The book is on sale at all major bookstores and online.
Hacikyan remains busy with a wide range of creative projects and has more exhibitions leading up to the New Year. Follow her on Instagram to see her work and stay up to date on her shows.
