Yuri Padal was born in a post-World War II Kyiv, Ukraine in 1949. Born into the legacy of the European masters, he was a vigilant student in his youth. He studied formally under the eye of the prolific Ukrainian artist Nikolai Petrovich Glushenko before traversing to Rome in 1976 to the Fresco School of Art.

Yuri’s dedication to learning was juxtaposed with his personal spirituality believing that everybody has the gift of creativity and can create wonders when concentrated in their art. His playful approach to art has him in a constant state of wonder, taking inspiration from the abstract in nature and the natural in the abstract and reconciling with his vision through his experimentation with different mediums. The works comprising Yuri Padal’s oeuvre are reminiscent of the colourful Modernist paintings of his Expressionist and Abstract Expressionist predecessors Vasily Kandinsky and Clyfford Still in his thick impasto technique, colour palette and arresting use of contrast.

Today Yuri’s work is celebrated worldwide in collections within the United States, Australia, New Zealand, England, France, and Canada. He has a permanent collection at the British Columbia Institute of Technology as well as a home for paintings he has donated to the Cardiovascular Department at the Vancouver General Hospital.