May 6, 2005
On eve of her rare retrospective exhibit at Mayberry Fine Art, Koop reveals vision for new art space.
INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED ARTIST WANDA KOOP ADDS SPARK TO EVOLUTION OF EDGY, EAST EXCHANGE NEIGHBOURHOOD
On eve of her rare retrospective exhibit at Mayberry Fine Art, Koop reveals vision for new art space
WINNIPEG – Renowned Winnipeg artist and community advocate Wanda Koop used the opening of a retrospective exhibit of her rare works at Mayberry Fine Art to announce the impending relocation of her studio to the edgy, northern fringe of Winnipeg’s East Exchange District.
Koop, whose contemporary paintings reside in museums and private collections around the world, has agreed to purchase a turn-of-the-last-century commercial building and adjacent, vacant land at the north end of Waterfront Drive. The red brick structure and high-roofed metal addition will become her office, studio and storage vault.
“It’s a tough area. It hasn’t been gentrified in any way. It’s such a mixed-use neighbourhood it will take a long time to evolve, but my coming in there might encourage others to take the chance and build along the waterfront,” said Koop, who has lived in downtown neighbourhoods all her life and worked out of a rented Donald Street studio for the last 27 years.
Due to the impending move, Koop decided to part with 30 significant works created in her long-time workspace. The Koop Retrospective opens for public viewing at the Mayberry gallery on Friday, May 7, and continues through May 29.
“I didn’t think I wanted to let this work go, but it’s such a momentous occasion to be moving after 27 years, that I decided to release some of my rare and best pieces,” Koop said. “It’s work that no one has looked at for years. It’s been an exciting process working with Bill and Shaun Mayberry to select the pieces for sale.”
Included in the exhibit is a preliminary piece for “Green Room” which is owned by the National Gallery of Canada, ink paintings which were the precursor to her “Paintings for Dimly Lit Rooms” series, a small “Raven” painting – the prelude to the larger piece purchased by actor Diane Keaton, the “Flying to the Moon” series based on Koop’s travels in China, three, eight-foot-square paintings from her “No Words” series, preliminary airplane paintings from her popular 1980s series, and one of the few drawings of her famous “Cherries” image.
“This is a unique opportunity to look into the past of Wanda’s work, the process that led to some of her most major works. It’s rare to see pieces from different series exhibited at one time. That will give the public a chance to see how her work has evolved,” said Shaun Mayberry, co-owner of Mayberry Fine Art.
Koop’s new, 6000-square-foot space across from Argyle Alternative High School was originally a blacksmith’s shop and supply store. Since 1952, the building has been home to National Wiper and Textiles, a rags supplier which intends to relocate its recycling operation before Koop takes possession July 1.
“It’s a scary thing but, at the same time, a good thing. I’ll clean up the building, make it sound on all fronts. I’d like to make my presence count. Being so close to Argyle School, I’m sure I’ll be able to work creatively with that community,” Koop said.
“The (Red River) waterfront is such an incredibly beautiful area. Being attached to the arts district, it’s a natural to become a very vibrant area.”
Already, Koop has met with a group from Argyle School that is spearheading a drive to landscape school property. Celebrated glass artist Warren Carther and designer-builder Steven Hunter, both residents of a neighbouring street, and ceramic artist Jordan Van Sewell, a Point Douglas resident, are also boosters of the neighbourhood greening plan.
“We can start a mini-movement. We’re mobilizing in a way that has never happened before in that area,” said Koop, who has plans for a grand flower garden on her open lot.
“I want people to come to the end of Waterfront Drive and see this amazing garden, something that will take your breath away, something that will transform and uplift,” added Koop, whose dream is to one day build herself a house on the property.
Koop, a long-time resident of the West Broadway neighbourhood, has worked towards urban renewal in that area for many years. She founded the very successful Art City, on Broadway Ave., to give at-risk youth the chance to work with professional artists.
Also committed to the revitalization of the City's downtown core, the Mayberry family restored their Exchange District heritage building to its former grandeur prior to Mayberry Fine Art’s opening in January, 2003. Prior to that, the century-old Lake of the Woods Milling Co. building, at 212 McDermot Ave., had stood empty for four years.
To learn more about Wanda Koop, her work, and the Mayberry gallery, visit www.mayberryfineart.com