One man’s trash is another’s treasure and that has never been more true than at Art from the Attic.
Unwanted art dropped off at the Coast Collective by collectors looking for new homes for “gently experienced treasures,” will be on display at the scenic lagoon-side gallery in Colwood. Collective manager Sharlene Stushnov-Lee said the work is truly one of a kind.
“It is a very eclectic collection of work, we didn’t know what we were going to get,” Stushnov-Lee said. “It is interesting to see what other people collect and what they have in their homes.”
It is the first time the gallery has hosted such an event and with the quality of art received during the call, she hopes to make it an annual treasure hunt collectors can look forward to every year.
“It is work they have had at their homes they loved at one time but doesn’t fit in with their lifestyle anymore so they are moving it out and we are happy to facilitate that,” she said. “When you come in you will see something that will have you coming back again.”
Until Feb. 5, collectors can take in everything from a Durer litho print made in the 1500s, to European porcelain dolls, a Russian spinning wheel, vintage photographs, collages and a hand-painted hurricane vase.
“I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t think (we would get) some of the high-calibre work that came in,” said gallery director Deborah Czernecky. “There is a lot of good artwork people don’t know what to do with. It is a win-win situation.”
Joining the show on Feb. 4 and 5 is an art garage sale with secondhand and used art supplies, such as oil paints, frames, canvasses and tools.
“Being in the art world I have learned that someone else might like it even if I think it is horrific,” Czernecky said laughing. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
The Coast Collective is open Wednesday to Sunday noon to 5 p.m. at 3221 Heatherbell Rd. Check out www.coastcollective.ca.
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