Artist Profiles
7
Regina Halpin Weber
1. What is your favourite work of art?
On a visit to The National Gallery of Ireland when I was a teenager, I came upon The Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Sir Frederic William Berton, and was captivated immediately.
Up until then, (and still sometimes today), I felt intimidated by art and artists. I hadn’t been allowed to do art in secondary school as the class was over subscribed and the teachers felt I would do as well at Music. Not true, as I am tone deaf!
I loved drawing and sketching but shied away from it because of subliminal messages of not being artistic enough. Seeing ‘The Meeting’, changed that for me. Here was something I could understand and identify with. My teenage heart broke with the doomed romance of the whole scene. The tragedy of the ill-fated lovers, Helliel and Hildebrand immediately appealed to me. The rich colouring and detail brought the medieval portrait to life, and their story, illustrated through the refined emotion on their faces, became real and poignant and believable. I no longer felt like an outsider. I got it. The painting had spoken to me, I trusted my own reaction and a whole new world opened up.
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| The Meeting |
2. What artist has been a constant inspiration in your life?
I love the work of Renoir. His glimpses of real life situations with ordinary folk doing ordinary things, elevates the simple to the sublime. I love the colours, the textures, the light feathery brushstrokes and the shimmery lightness.
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| Renoir |
3. If you could have any work by any artist to hang on your wall who or what would it be?
I would love to have The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. I love the sumptuousness of the painting. The glittering gold is fabulous and the couple’s embrace is tender and sweet and gentle, yet there is passion. The painting, for me, is a feast for the eyes and for the emotions.
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| Klimt's The Kiss |
4. What would you describe as art and non-art?
This is a tough. I have only recently ventured into the world of painting and art, and I think, that for me, any creative way a person chooses to express themselves is art for them. In responding the viewer has their own interpretation that is true for them. It is very subjective.
5. Who would your ideal collector be?
I think I would have to go back to where it all started, The National Gallery of Ireland, I would feel then I had come full circle!
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| National Gallery, Ireland |