Roman Swiderek's Winnipeg

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Roman Swiderek, “Morning Practice,” 1994

oil on canvas, 24“ x 36”

For years, Roman Swiderek has painted the city he loves. If you’re from Winnipeg, you’ve likely seen his work – greeting cards and limited-edition prints that served his goal of putting his art into the hands of everyday people.

“He wanted it to be available to everyone,” says Jennifer DeLury, the manager of Winnipeg’s Woodlands Gallery, which is organizing a retrospective of Swiderek’s original paintings and drawings from March 10 to April 7. “It’s really for all of Winnipeg that he’s made these.”

• Watch video interview with Roman Swiderek

Swiderek, now in his early 80s, focuses on landmarks like Assiniboine Park, The Forks and the ever- bustling Portage and Main, but also includes personal favourites, like a community skating rink and the Red River, where he used to sled with his huskies. “I miss my dogs so much,” he says in a thick Polish accent. “You can’t imagine. It was just the river, me and the dogs.”

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Roman Swiderek, “Summer in the Park,” 2004

oil on canvas, 28” x 45”

Swiderek was born in Lodz, a large city in central Poland, and immigrated to Canada in 1961 to make a better life for his family. At first he painted religious icons for Winnipeg churches and sets for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, but eventually set up his own business and worked as a designer for the local fashion industry. He retired in 1989 to paint full time.

Swiderek liked to travel and made painting trips as far away as the West Coast and the Rockies. For 13 years, he set up a show each spring at the Columbia Icefield, where he would paint while enjoying the peaceful mountain vistas.

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Roman Swiderek, “Sunset on the Bridge II,” 2010

oil on canvas, 24” x 60”

He would create several open-air pencil studies to get a feel for each site before he started to paint. “You don’t think,” he told an interviewer in his younger days. “You just have it in your blood and it comes out this way.” ■

Roman Swiderek’s Winnipeg is at the Woodlands Gallery from March 10 to April 7, 2018.