Tiny Dancers
Stephen Lack
January 9 - February 7, 2026
Paul Petro Contemporary Art is pleased to present paintings by Sadko Hadžihasanović and Stephen Lack.
Sadko Hadžihasanović was born in Bihac, Bosnia in 1959. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, Bosnia, earned his MFA at the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1984) and arrived in Toronto in 1993, after the outbreak of the Bosnian war, and stayed.
Stephen Lack was born in Montreal in 1946. He received a B.A. from McGill University, Montreal in 1967 and an M.F.A. Sculpture. University of Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in 1969. He eventually settled in New York City and became one of the seminal artists of the East Village scene in the early 80s, joining the original stable of the Gracie Mansion Gallery.
Each artist shares an outsider's perspective, Sadko on North American culture and Lack on American culture, and share a focus on the formation of identity and its many mainstream media influences. They both straddle the digital age. What we see most often are the consequences of these influences, with figures in isolation, in pairs or small groups, working things out while the forces and causes remain implied, offstage and outside of the picture.
Here is a longer bio for Stephen Lack, provided by the artist:
Stephen Lack is a Montreal-born artist & filmmaker living in NY state and exhibiting internationally. One of the seminal artists of the N.Y. East Village Scene of the 1980’s; part of the original stable of the Gracie Mansion Gallery. Referred to as ‘The Boticelli of Sleaze’ in a 1977 review of his work in the Montreal Star, Lack continues to ride the edge of Human Disconnect, Portraits of Authority, Suburban and Industrial Architecture and the ‘Games Children Play’. He is in many major collections worldwide, private and public; : The Chase Manhattan Bank collection; The New Britain Museum of American Art; The Rubell Family Collection; Ralph Lauren Family Collection; The Museum of Art, Antwerp Belgium; The New York Public Library Print Collection; The Brooklyn Museum; Senvest Corp, Montreal, the Australian National Gallery, Canberra; the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, The TD Bank of Canada, The Royal Bank of Canada, The W.A.G (Winnipeg Art Gallery); among many others. His works have appeared in the New Yorker Magazine, Glamour, GQ, and the NYTimes. His early films, “Montreal Main” and “The Rubber Gun” debuted at the Whitney Museum and MOMA NY New Director series respectively, the latter film being nominated for Best Script at Canada’s first Genie Awards.. His work in David Cronenberg’s ‘Scanners’ and ‘Dead Ringers’ imbeds him as a cultural icon, as well as his award-winning work with Jon Jost on ‘All the Vermeers in NY’ for PBS’ American Playhouse. Deep in his heart he is and will always be underground. In 2022 he was a recipient of the Acker Award honouring the talents of the East Village Art Scene in NYC. Two books on his work “There Is a War” pen and ink drawings, and “When are you Coming Home” were produced by Xeno-Optic press; Website: www.stephenlackart.com