A few bidders walked away with some great deals at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery (GPAG) art auction last Saturday evening. About 50 artists contributed their Visions of Home artwork to the gala event and the results were as diverse as the artists themselves. Many artists were professional, some emerging, and they were showing mostly painting or photography, and occasionally such diverse items as Jennie Tschoban’s knitted socks. (The title was Home is Wearing a Pair of Cozy Knit Sox on a Cold Winter Night.)
About $10,000 was raised through live and silent auction and the money will be split three ways: to Habitat for Humanity, to the Gallery and to the artists, many of whom were in attendance. Chris Pallett, a director from Habitat for Humanity, spoke briefly about the project that has a mission of lifting low income families out of the poverty cycle through home ownership.
Other three dimensional art included Cindy Lewandoski’s Pilgrimage, a mixed media, soft sculpture wall hanging, and Miyuki Shinkai’s folding screen with images and glasswork representing home. Artist Nadina Tandy was ecstatic when her mixed media piece, Dreaming of Home, fetched $900 at auction. Dolf Vermeulen’s photo print on aluminum, Surface Tension, of a sleek fin sliding through smooth waves also drew a high bid. Another great deal was had for the late Doug Biden’s work, Under the Surface. The Vancouver/Sunshine Coast artist’s photo intaglio was executed in 1977; his work is rarely available for sale.
Harrison Mohr, RCMP member and part-time auctioneer, stepped up, accompanied by Shelley Fearnley, to elicit bids from the crowd. Mohr described a painting he had seen while travelling that fascinated him and reminded him of the connection a viewer makes with a painting.
“That’s what art is,” he said. “When I walk past that painting in my house – I feel that connection.”
Stewart Stinson, president of the GPAG board, told Coast Reporter he was grateful to the artists who participated. Receiving even a third of the proceeds from the art auction helps the gallery considerably.
The Visions of Home artwork has now gone to new homes, and the gallery is set up to open for a new show by artist Jan Poynter of Grantham’s Landing and photographer Paul Clancy. It opens this Saturday, Nov. 12 with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m.
