Local artist displays new paintings

 

A renowned Windsor artist is showing off some new pieces at his first solo exhibit in 35 years, after his retirement from the political sphere.

Mariano Klimowicz, vice chair of the Association of Representational Artists, featured 28 paintings at ArtSpeak Gallery in Windsor last weekend. Among the paintings were 24 brand new pieces.

The former president of the NDP of Windsor, Klimowicz has recently stepped back from a political life, which has given him more time to focus on his passion of oil painting.

“Art was always there, but I had to make a living,” said KIimowicz. “I decided to step down in 2014 to pursue my art. I wanted new challenges.”

The process of oil painting is time consuming for Klimowicz. One piece can take him up to 10 months, so Klimowicz now has the time he needs to dedicate himself to his craft. He constructs his own frames using a linen canvas made from the flax plant and his own homemade gesso, a primer used in oil painting, made from rabbit skin glue. With most modern painters now using more generic methods, this seldom-used technique guarantees his paintings will last 500 years or more.

Klimowicz has used many art mediums throughout his life while trying to find his own style. He started with watercolours when he was six years old. He now does primarily oil paintings because it dries more slowly and allows him more time to work on a piece. Also it allows for richer pigments. Using a technique that compounds colors, he is able to get hues that are unique and vibrant.

“Think of layers of translucent glass,” said Klimowicz. “More colours, more vibrancy.”

Klimowicz is a St. Clair College graduate of architecture, which he attributes to giving him better perspective and more accuracy in his paintings of portraits, as well as land and seascapes.

“I wasn’t really attracted to abstract or the other forms,” said Klimowicz. “They weren’t challenging enough. I like to do a variety to keep myself sharp. It goes back to storytelling. Painting to tell a story, it goes back to allegorical symbolism.”

Klimowicz has seen the Windsor art scene improving over the years.

“I think the scene has gotten stronger. And people are more accepting of the value of art,” said Klimowicz.

His showcase, known as the Capricious Exhibit, was located in the ArtSpeak Gallery located at 1942 Wyandotte Street East Nov. 9 – 14

Jordan Worsell-Collins, assistant outreach coordinator of ArtSpeak said the Capricious Exhibit has been busy.

“There’s been a great turn out,” said Worsell-Collins.

“Not a lot of artists actually sit in the gallery space, but he’s been here every day.”

Worsell-Collins said Klimowicz is really well known in the art community and they’ve had a wide range of people coming in to see his pieces.

“I think it’s great. It’s really fun to look,” said Worsell-Collins. “They’re the kind of pictures that make you pause. There’s so much detail.”