Wim Blom “The Beauty of Stillness”
Wim Blom
“Wim Blom’s work is precise, of a timeless quality. He adopts an intensely realistic approach to
painting still lifes and images of uninhabited interiors, exploring the intrigue of spaces.”
Willem Adriaan Blom (Wim Blom) was born in Germiston, South Africa on the 22nd of February 1927.(†18th of January 2021)
Wim received his Fine Arts MA degrees from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and did post-graduate work at the
University of Edinburg, Scotland, and at the University of Perugia, Italy.
Wim Blom taught at the University of the Witwatersrand and at the Johannesburg School of Art. Trained as an art historian he held
the post of Research Curator at the National Gallery of Canada and subsequently that of Curatorial Administrator.
After leaving the museum world Wim Blom dedicated himself exclusively to painting. For a number of years he lived in Italy and Spain.
Wim was a devoted traveller and an inveterate reader in several languages. His work is represented in public collections, such as the
National Gallery of Canada, the South African National Gallery in numerous corporate and private collections in Canada, France, Great
Britain, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S.A. Wim Blom
has exhibited internationally.
WIM BLOM APROPOS DE WIM BLOM
Why does one paint? Why do I paint?
I can think of many smart answers but that wouldn't be honest and besides, how often do you ask yourself these questions
anyway?
I'm always busy painting, physically involved and there are only rare moments when I can be detached enough to philosophize.
The most important thing I've found and of course I am not the first to discover it is that my painting is completely part of me
and inseparable from the way I live. As some one once said it is easier to paint a good picture than it is to paint a bad one. The
difficulty is to have the will for it. A good picture is the outcome of all one's great living. Another truism is that to be an artist is
to construct, no matter what you are making. The degree you show talent and ability for construction in work of any kind, you
are that much an artist.
Enquire Shelf with bowl 2015 Oil on canvas 66 x 66 cm
I enjoy the writings of Malraux who was aware of the constructive side of things. He said that an artist extracts from the
profusion of all he has seen and experienced whatever serves him for modifying his earlier works. Building on what he has
already done, he goes on, step by step and imposes order on the world through the very process of creation.
If I have to sum it all up, despite my personal likes and dislikes, preferences and aversions, I must admit that I believe in the
carefully planned, well-crafted, superbly executed and aesthetically faultless object, for which the consumption of time and
market demand would be of no consideration.
Enquire Shelf with a ribbon 2016 Oil on canvas 45.7 x 66cm (18″ x 26″)
"On being released from the necessary disciplines of schooling, my
sister Ida and I gleefully entered University she in a scientific
direction and I started painting seriously. After 4 yearsat the
University of the Witwatersrand I studied drawing in London with
lain M'Nab who taught me the value of sound technique. Then
followed 2 years of post-graduate work at the University of
Edinburgh. The summer of 1949 was spent in Italy, at Perugia
University and where I investigated medieval paintings in the
Umbrian hill towns making notes, and collecting photographs for my
thesis"
Enquire Florence Italy, water colour and oil,
painted in Florence 1955 15" x 12 "
Enquire View of Florence 1957 oil on panel
32.2 x 36.5 cm frame 49x57 cm
From 1955 to early 1958 Wim Blom lived in Florence with the Cardini family in this house at Via Benedetto
Fortini 27, a very interesting family among them was the celebrated anthropologist Professor Luigi Cardini.
1955
2023
Enquire Venice I facade 1953 40 x 50 cm oil on board
Enquire Perugia Italy May 1955 water olour painted in Perugia 1955 33x32cm
Enquire Venice II facade 1953 40 x 50 cm oil on board
The years in Florence exposed Wim Blom
to the best in museums, churches and
public places. He was immediately aware
of the impeccable craftsmanship and
disciplined aesthetic expression of the
Italian masters. This experience has
remained indelible and has been a
constant point of reference for him.
His Italian pictures reveal the powerful
impact that Tuscan architecture made on
him. His recurrent themes are views of
towns, church and palace facades. The
rendering is broad and strong despite the
generally small format of the paintings.
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Yellow shelf with plate and striped box 2019 oil on canvas 43 x 43 cm-17m Wim Bloms last painting. $5,500
During 1966-1968 Wim Blom acquired a studio house on the Spanish island of Menorca. After Canada the mediterranean
light and the solemn beauty of the place brought about a profound change in his work and he produced an entirely new
series of drawings and paintings; for the first time he became pre-occupied with the human figure and the dilemma of
man. This was almost in complete opposition to his earlier romantic approach to landscape and interiors.
After two years back in Canada as Curatorial Administrator at the National Gallery, he returned to Menorca in 1970 and
came back to Salt Spring Island ,BC Canada to live there permanently.
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Sheep bell (Spain) 2012 Egg tempera on paper 31 x 37 cm framed $5600
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Lamp and plate 2014 Oil on canvas 45.7 x 66 cm (18″ x 26″) framed $14,500
Details of study and experience
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Enquire Torso 1985 pencil on paper 6”x6” framed 16”x18”
Our coffee table photo book 8.5”x 11” with 34 high gloss prints is now available for purchase. $49.95
Enquire Folded hanging cloth 1980
pencil on paper 18x19cm rame:11.5”x14.5”
WIM BLOM CV
Wim Blom has exhibited internationally. His work is
represented in public collections, such as the National
Gallery of Canada and the South African National Gallery, in
numerous corporate collections and in private collections in
Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan,
The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland and the U.S.A.
EDUCATION:
B.A. Hons., M.A., University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, South Africa; University of Edinburgh, United
Kingdom; University of Perugia, Italy; Studied painting,
Florence, Italy; Studied graphic techniques, Southern Alberta
Institute of Technology, Calgary, Canada; Studied lithography,
Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
APPOINTMENTS:
Lecturer, Department of Fine Arts, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; Instructor, Johannesburg Art
School, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; Research
curator, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, and Editor of the
Bulletin of the National Gallery of Canada; Curatorial
Administrator, National Gallery of Canada.
PUBLICATIONS:
Author of a variety of exhibition catalogues, articles and
historical studies in painting. Founding Editor of the semi-
annual Bulletin - a scholarly publication produced between
1963 and 1985. Sybille Pantazi, a librarian at the Art Gallery
of Toronto, went as far as to describe the Bulletin as
“splendiferous” The first eight issues were edited by Wim.
AWARDS:
1957 Dante Alighieri Gold Medal, Fine Arts
Society of Florence, Italy
1979 Medalla de honor, XVII Salón de
Primavera, Atenéo de Mahón, Spain
1982 Primo Premio, Certámen Internacional de
Pintura, Mahón, Spain
1998 Fellowship, The Ballinglen Arts Foundation,
Republic of Ireland
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
1957 Prima mostra di artisti stranieri residenti in
Firenze, Florence, Italy
Prima mostra internacionale di pittura, Vallombrosa,
Italy
1966 Canadian Prints, Drawings and Watercolours,
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
1969 Six Canadian Painters, Picture Loan Gallery,
Toronto
1973 Art 4’73, International Art Fair, Basel
Summer exhibition, Galerie Schulze-Theiler, Münster
1974 Art 5’74, International Art Fair, Basel
1975 The Perth Prize for Drawing International,
Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth
1982 Certámen Internacional de Pintura, Mahón,
Menorca
1988 Albemarle Gallery, London, UK
1990,1993 Nancy Poole’s Studio, Toronto
1998,2000,2002 Vortex Gallery, Salt Spring Island
2004 Mitchell Gallery, Salt Spring Island
2007,2010,2013,2016 Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver
Articles
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