The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-05-16, Page 17•
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Art galleries And funeral:
*Mies used to be kindred spirits,
Both p.aces were
visited with an
titud"eof
at paying hom.4age to the
dead.
Naturally, this will never
change in the case of funeral
homes, but art galleries are
finally coming alive.
We ho
to eliminate the ivory
Y
tower stigma to the word
`gallery'," says Guenter Heim,
owner of the Heim Art Gallery
located one mile northeast of
Wingham on the ninth concession
of Turnberry Township.
"This is a people gallery," says
the artist, who started his pet
project in 1971 and has featured
more than 400 art pieces there
since that time.
KEN HANSON, a well-known Canadian watercolorist, is one of several artists whose
works will be on.display at.Guenter. Heim's art gallery near Wingham. Mr.. Heim's gallery.
displays works that range from traditional ii technique to more avant-garde and stylized.
pieces. All the art on display was produced by Canadian artists.
.a
•
He ,admits '`itis a vary
likelylocatron for a gallery of this
t.d
buth a
�.
de that number
e
type", t,4. a
of clients `visit us regularly and
support us."
Originally from Nuremberg,
Germany, where he began anis
artistic career In 1949 by a»prefl
tieing under the master artist
Ludwig Schultheiss, Mr. Ham,
says Canada is "still a pioneer
country in the sense that . its
people ore not yet accustomedle
buying art."
He asks, "How many young
people between the ages of 20 and
25 think nothing of financing a
new muscle car or buying an exp
pensive stereo and yet would net
purchase a good piece of arty?
They believe that by buying
machines they have apparently
tangible objects, but what cow
be more tangible and . sensible
than buying a piece of art that
can bring lasting pleasure and
enjoyment?"
He scoffs at the idea that artis
expensive because "the paintings
we have here range from $50. to
about $100 and $100 will buy a
very good piece of original Cana-
dian art."
Mr. Heim says art is' probably
the best buy a . consumer can
make right now because it rarely
depreciates in value and "lasts
forever".
Whiskey is more valuable to
some than a painting, he says;
adding with. a ;wry smile "Not
that whiskey isn't valuable." But,.
he contends, it's a question o.
"where to invest your dollar, and
'Most' con nnoditi._ee� we are.
soon gone. Art live's forever."
He has noticed that many
Canadians are afraid to commit
themselves to a certain piece of
art. Some visitors to his gallery
show a desire to buy something
they like, but are afraid someone
else will fail to see into it and
think it is garbage and a'waste of
money.
"They should buy what strikes
an emotional cord within_them,"
says the galleiry owner, "so that
they will _have lasting . pleasure
from it."
urs He raiptains, "'You =don't have
to be an expert to enjoy art,
} because it is the type of thing that
is very delicate in the sense that
each person *sees something dif«
ferent in the same painting and,
while one is not lured 30 it,
another willmost definitely feel
the desire to have it and enjoy it
each day."
Because he feels that art should
not be, placed on an untouchable
list, Mr. Heim says ' buying from
his gallery is "secondary". "Sure
we like to sell, but the main thing
is to have people gain some
pleasure from seeing the art
pieces that are here and to be
motivated, by them. Being an
artist myself and not just a
gallery owner, my first concern
lies with the appreciation of art's
beauty and not with just selling it
and moving it out."
After a three-year apprentice-
ship in Germany and another two
. years of attending art school
there, Mr. Heim carne to Canada
1954 and took night-time
classes in art and related fields
for three years.
He .came to Wingham in 1962
and was the art director for
CKNXrTV for a period of time
before teaching art in . various
high schools and at Georgian
College. He is now an instructor
at the school of design in Fan-
shawe College, London.
The gallery is an artist's outlet,
is non-profit and is financed
through private capital. It
• charges 25 per cent of the price
pold, for a piece -of work
"Sici Y * a; Mgr Olvie
gallery," says Mr. Heim. "The
idea is to present professional
artists and their works to the
area residents as well as to
tourists."
Now in its third year, it has
been "moderately successful up
to this point.
"We need .. the participation of
the people to make this a true
success," says the owner.
The only gallery in existence.
between Owen Sound and Lon-
don, it now has from 65 to 70
pieces on 'display.
rio GUENTER HEIM welcomes artist Dwayne Fenwick and his family to his
gallery. A number of artists put in an appearance to the weeks preceding the
gallery's May 12 opening to deliver their works for display, take a sneak
preview of other artists' work in the showing and just to talk. All of the art
work on display was created by Canadian artists, most of them from
southern and southwestern Ontario.
Eric Atkinson, Dean of the
.
Ap-
p11et Arts School at lanshawe
College, London, is just one of the
well-known -artists who currently
have their work at the Heim
Gagery•
Other professional artists with
their works in the present collec-
tion are Doris Murray of London,
Mrs. Mona Mulhern of Goderich,
Jack Aldersley who. studied
. under some of the greatest artists
in . Canada and works out of Han-
over, Ken Hanson, a watercolor-
ist with an excellent reputation
built on quality work in galleries
throughout Ontario, Ken Jackson.
of CFPL-TV, London, and Bruce
Smith, who specializes in both
canvas work and sculptures.
Each artist whose work is ac-
cepted by the gallery is an estab=
lished professional and the pieces
range from naturalistic to sur-
realistic, featuring a large
number of water colors, oils and
drawings plus sculpture.,
"There is a great variation of
art here, reflecting the individual.
personalities and .insights of the
different artists," says Mr.
Heim . .
The gallery has also featured a.
'Mew small
works
by�
: X. Jack-
son
of tilt .famous: Group of
Seven." One of the paintings by
Jackson, valued at $5,000, was on
display during the research
period for this .article.
Some of the wog* of another
great artist, Arthur Lismer, is
also coming in. '
CANADI,A,N LANDSCAPES;
"There is .a severity in Cana,
dian landscapes," Says Mr.
Heim, "and, as artists, we're in-
terpreting a feeling there within
the landscape. If we do it right, I
think the rawness of our. Cana-
dian landscapes must come
through.", /
He compares it to European
landscapes which "are like a
fairy tale and bear no relation to
Canadian landscapes. ,
"It is a young, rugged and often
bleak country and this iswhy
many landscape paintings of
Canada quite often lack the color
that characterizes European
landscapes."
Landscape painting is "repre-
sentational" says .Mr. Heim. "A
painting. of a
never,
cause the artist sees
there and pc it onto the canvas.
You've got to make ,the viewer.
think it is real without x �It
look like a photograph,"
. . landscape is structural, lie
.says, n04'1044 would -recognise
the area once they compared It
with what was on the. caan
yet the painting will; have more
feeling, whether It be odra
warmth, or more rugged,
ing on how the moist sees
Again, it's 'interpretation to
caves something that is there,
but perhaps not obvious to the
naked eye or even to the eye.cI:a
camera." «.
Guenter Heim s . `people ,,gal-
lery"'overlooks a peacet view
of "the MaitlandiRiver`,u an appro-
priate setting for aa, cenre'mow
taining beauty and counicat-
ingwith the :people,
Art la alive! The work,
the Heim Gallery 13 NOT
thngartsts.have captured, but
as free as your IMagiasdkal and
free as the Maitland River itself.
ARTIST DWAYNE FENWICK and art gallery owner Guenter Heim stand amid the Wood
sculptures of another Canadian artist, Bruce Smith, whose works in graphic art, sculpture
and painting will be on display when the gallery opens its next showing May 12. Mr. Heim
has devoted his gallery to the works of Canadian artists and artists like himself, who have
come fromPEurope to take up residence in Canada. He stresses that although the works
are on sale one of the major reasons for running the gallery is to keep people in touch with
art.