Marla Hlady

Marla Hlady is a Canadian kinetic and sound artist who works in sculpture, drawing, sound and installation. She is a contemporary of Lois Andison, Simone Jones, Diane Landry and Daniel Olson.

Hlady's works are generally sculptural works and installations composed of everyday materials activated by electronic and mechanical systems, often reflecting the social systems that created them. Her works tend to follow a system-based approach to composition. Her major works include "Drumming Displaced into Different Sized Jam Jars", a large series of sculpture in the collection of The Art Gallery of Ontario, and "Waltzing Matilda", a kinetic sculpture that has exhibited extensively.

She has an MFA in sculpture (York University, 1990) and a BFA (1987) from University of Victoria.

Artistic career

Hlady first gained notice for her kinetic installation "neutralized feelings of apprehension," at G76 in Toronto, which was enthusiastically reviewed by Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail. Her solo installation "Beauty" at the Koffler Gallery in Toronto, was curated by John Massier in 1992. After exhibiting her kinetic work "Waltzing Matilda" at Peregrine Gallery, which was reviewed by Gillian MacKay of the Globe and Mail, she had group and solo exhibitions at The Power Plant in Toronto. Her work "Drumming Displaced into Different Sized Jam Jars" was purchased by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1999.

Awards In 2002, she was nominated for the Sobey Art Award.

Major collections Hlady's work is in the public collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada.

Major exhibitions

Neutralized Feelings of Apprehension, Gallery 76, Toronto, Ontario, 1991 Beauty, Koffler Loggia Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, 1992 Gallerie Christiane Chassay, Montreal, Quebec, 1993 "Naked State: A Selected View of Toronto Art", The Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario, 1994 Gallerie Christiane Chassay, Montreal, Quebec, 1995 "Blink", The Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario, 1996 Gallerie Christiane Chassay, Montreal, Quebec, 1997 "Machines Festives", La Centrale, Montreal, Quebec, 1999 The Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario, 2001 The Gallery, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, 2001 Marla Hlady: Shelf Works, Neutral Ground, Regina, Saskatchewan, 2002 Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, 2003 Owen's Art Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick, 2004 "The Idea of North", Iceland and Canada (touring), 2005 Playing Piano, Gallery YYZ, Toronto, Ontario, 2008 Marla Hlady: Rooms, Oakville Galleries, Oakville, Ontario, 2011 Marla Hlady: Walls, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 2012

Works this abandoned house, 1991 Neutralized Feelings of Apprehension, 1991 Beauty, 1992 off-roader 1, 1994 Gut Machines, 1994–95 Drumming Displaced into Different Sized Jam Jars, 1999 Waltzing Matilda, 2000 She Moves Through the Fair (Pipe Whistle), 2001 Playing Piano, 2008

Publications