Artist, woodworker rises from the ashes

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This article was published 26/11/2021 (1638 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From the flames that licked up his work, from that fiery monster which gobbled the tools he used to make it, woodworker and sculptor Keith Oliver crafted the Phoenix Bowl. It is a smooth wooden bowl which stands on rough pegs cut from branches that jut out like stunted rays of sunshine. Inside the bowl lay chunks of charcoal — the remains of Oliver’s former North End studio which burned to the ground in 2019, turning to ash decades of Winnipeg artists’ work.

“It’s a phone call you don’t ever want to get at two in the morning,” Oliver said of the fire. “It was life-altering for many people in that building.”

But Oliver said the arts community rallied around him and the other affected artists. The Winnipeg Arts Council and the Winnipeg Foundation rustled up cash to help compensate the artists (who either did not have insurance or had the wrong type, largely due to “astronomical” insurance costs, Oliver said). A GoFundMe also helped cover replacement tools and materials.

“It’s deeply heartwarming,” Oliver said.

Bolstered by that support, Oliver has now launched an exhibit of new work at C2 Centre for Craft on Cumberland Avenue.

While the Phoenix Bowl is rife with symbolism, Oliver tends to focus more on the physicality of an object. The name of the exhibit — Spikes, Holes & Other Things — evidences his penchant for exploring how his works occupy an area, or cede it to surrounding air.

“I feel it’s important the way things touch, the way things sit in space,” Oliver said. “Probably comes more from the sculptural background than the furniture background.”

Oliver studied sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design and later taught at the University of Manitoba. For over 40 years, he has put that knowledge toward creating and selling furniture, as well as wood sculptures, as a main source of income.

“I wouldn’t recommend it to people,” Oliver said, with a laugh.

He has, after all, taken a risk to put on the exhibit. He’s invested thousands of dollars and many hours of labour in his work, with no guaranteed buyers. But this much is sure: Oliver has created beautiful and singular pieces of furniture and artwork.

His hall cabinet bubbles out slightly at the sides, as though its chest widens with inward breath. Its legs, also curved outward, seem to lift it lightly on toe.

His plant stand rises high on three legs, each of which is completely different in shape; yet all maintain the gentle roundedness particular to Oliver’s work.

The torus jar, which is the only work lost in the fire that Oliver took the time to replicate, seems to whorl round like a pitcher plant with hoop-shaped leaves wrapping up its gullet.

The exhibit is open noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday at C2 Centre for Craft, 1-329 Cumberland Ave. Admission is free, and all Oliver’s pieces are for sale. Oliver also makes custom furniture, and anyone who wishes to commission a piece can be reached through his website at www.keitholiver.com