Heinrich Gunter, Tri Heinrich, and Sam Anthony are three Canadian collectors and gallery owners who have decided to open the Guntrian gallery in Barcelona, on Muntaner Street, next to Diagonal Avenue and Passatge de Lluís Pellicer. After successfully managing a gallery in the city of Victoria (Vancouver) for 28 years, the founders of Guntrian now aim to develop a new artistic project in the Catalan capital based on the exhibition of graphic works by national and international artists.
The three Canadians had known the city for years, having visited numerous times for holidays. However, the last time they arrived in Barcelona, they decided not to let it go and to adhere to it in a more intimate and special way. "This is a project that constitutes a transcendental turning point in our lives and was born from the decision to make the Catalan capital our new home, after a fortnight of holidays here," explain the founders themselves.
The three partners have inaugurated Guntrian with the aim of sharing their love for art, with a sensibility and knowledge forged over a lifetime of serving local and foreign collectors and the general public in Canada. Their new gallery is born with the vocation of "becoming the epicenter of 20th-century graphic work in the modernist heart of Barcelona's Eixample" and with the desire to actively participate in the city's cultural and artistic fabric.
The inaugural exhibition features twenty-five pieces ---paintings, lithographs, posters, and some sculptures and design pieces--- that were commissioned for the celebration of the 1992 Olympic Games and are the work of some of the most relevant international names in the 20th-century art scene. "We thought that starting with an exhibition commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the Barcelona Olympics is a very good way to begin and connect with the city and its people," explains Gunter Heinrich.
Thus, Guntrian offers visitors the opportunity to see unparalleled works signed by artists such as Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies in contrast to pieces by other national figures such as Pablo Picasso or Eduardo Chillida in a space endowed with great luminosity and elegance and characterized by its high Catalan vaulted ceiling. In addition, the inaugural exhibition does not forget the essence of great international artists, such as Alexander Calder, Donald Sultan, the American pop artist Robert Indiana or the German-Egyptian sculptor Dr. Gindi, who exhibits one of her bronzes.
"The protagonist of visual art is always the spectator'', highlight the creators of the new gallery, which will open from Tuesday to Saturday from eleven in the morning to eight in the evening. In their previous stage in Victoria, they had an eclectic mix of Canadian artists, including Jean Paul Riopelle, David Blackwood, Mary Pratt, Molly Lamb Bobak, Joe Fafard, Jack Shadbolt, Tony Onley, among many others, as well as figures such as David Milne or Emily Carr. Now, their project embraces internationality, featuring the greatest German, Italian and French representatives of contemporary visual art.
In short, a sensational story: three Canadians with a Barcelona soul who give light to the Guntrian gallery, which is literally born out of love for art. "The goal of our project is for people to enjoy it," concludes Gunter.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.
