Artist H.E. KUCKEIN was born on the Baltic Coast near Königsberg. He began painting as a child, later choosing architecture as a career. He emigrated to Vancouver, which - in the 1950s - was a mecca for contemporary design. His painting continued throughout this period. A chance visit to an exhibition of works by Nicolas de Stael in Paris would change the direction of his painting for the rest of his life, resulting in experimentation with abstraction and collage making.

Kuckein has travelled throughout the world gathering subject material. He now resides in the Okanagan Valley and devotes his time to painting . . . "Painting is both a joy and an obsession to me. It is my way of life and a dedication - it fills most of my waking hours and my daily pattern of life is structured around my mission to create paintings. All my work springs from the impression of a moment - it could be triggered by a recalled scent, the sight of a heavy fog over the Ganges in the morning light or the sound of a sitar drifting through a village in India."