For many people today, choosing home décor is as simple as going to the nearest Ikea. For Mr. Gary Low, long time visual-arts teacher at Earl Haig, the process is much more than choosing an aesthetically pleasing colour scheme. With an art collection to rival many of Toronto’s galleries, Low’s apartment is bursting with paintings, photographs, etchings and sculptures, the oldest of which dates back to 1511. In addition to the staggering quantity of art, there is also near indescribable quality to the composition and structure of what is much more than just a living space.
The immediate response when entering someone’s home is to exclaim how beautiful it is. With Mr. Low’s however, one is left near speechless. One of first things I thought of after overcoming my awe was to wonder how long he must have been collecting art in order to acquire such an impressive collection. His response is one that portrays not only a love of art, but also a long-time dedication to the collecting process, “I would say about 15 years. But I first started not collecting art so much, but radios and watches – which I still do. I also collected cameras and toasters. And then one day I walked into Robert Birch’s art gallery one, and I saw a piece, and I thought I had never seen anything like it and that was the first major art piece I bought. At this point, it’s almost like hunting, trying to acquire art. The main problem I have is where to put these things!”
This is, of course, an unusual problem to encounter. Not finding art, but finding a place for it to fit. “I measure the walls and then I put tape along the floor to map everything out. Then decide if I’m going to put photos, or paintings and I compose everything on the floor first. I don’t put them up right away, because the next day I might see that I made a mistake and I need to switch things around.” He elaborates in saying that, “If I find something that I feel I can obtain, then I have to start thinking where is it going to go and what’s going to come down. There are some things I’ve had to put away in a closet that I wish I could display.”
“It’s like a puzzle and basically everywhere…anywhere that you sit in the apartment, you can look and find that you yourself are part of the composition, just from where you’re sitting. I want you to look and see a composition everywhere. I don’t think there’s a spot anywhere where you wouldn’t be compelled to see something.” This is undeniably a beautiful concept, to constantly find that you’re part of a composition, purposely set up so that everything coincides. Mr. Low certainly seems to have fashioned himself a uniquely enticing living space “I come in here at night and turn my theatre lamp on, and sit and just are surrounded by a lovely atmosphere, no sound just art.”
Low goes on to say that this need for perfection in arrangement extends from his own home, to the homes of other, “Everything must work. It’s like a puzzle and if something is not working, I could spot it. I think if I were to go over to someone’s house, and they had a painting on the wall that was crooked, I would go over when they weren’t looking and straighten it.” As we talked, he in fact noticed a crooked photograph and proceeded to align correctly.
In addition to the many well-known and up-and-coming artisans featured in Mr. Low’s own personal gallery, he also exhibits some work by Earl Haig’s former students. “I have lots of students work, I either trade one of my pieces for theirs or I buy it from them, and many students have gone on to become exhibiting artists. In fact, I have one of Ms. Sakharvarz’s early works.” In addition to displaying a piece by his fellow Earl Haig art teacher, Mr. Low also showcases several of his own paintings. “I have two pieces [of mine] up. The reason I put the one of the calf up is cosmetic, there’s a fire-alarm behind it that sticks out and I wanted to cover it.”
It was this statement that reminds us that although a museum in aesthetic value, Mr. Low’s apartment must also be functional. He is quick to assert that although stunning, the space is certainly liveable, “Almost all my radios work and are functional, and all the cameras work if you can find film. And the only piece of furniture that I wouldn’t sit on is [the red-blue chair] because it is an artefact on its own”. There is also a certain irony in the functional uses of some of his previously mentions art pieces. Most notably, the 1930’s icebox, which is used as a bookshelf and the hand crafted tables that are used as clothes drawers.
It is doubtful that I’ll ever see another home as thoughtful and refined as Gary Low’s. He is keen in letting it be known that opportunity must arise in order to obtain the pieces, and in turn the living environment, that you want, “I strategize and wait for the piece.” That waiting certainly pays off and in the brief time spent admiring his collection I saw some of the most striking art pieces and definitely the most exquisite compositions that I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing. What’s in the near future for Mr. Low’s art? “I want to support young people, new people and play with my collection.”
What a brilliant, well-written, and thoughtful article!
I miss Mr. Low so much and need to come visit Haig to “have a chat”!