Longtime Salmon Arm lawyer leaving courtroom for art gallery

Lawyer, zen monk, art collector and gallery owner. 

All of these describe Salmon Arm’s Ian McTavish, at least until the end of the year when he retires his legal practice. 

“Fifty-one years – crazy career, and I’m one of he few remaining lawyers that has a mixed practice in litigation, I do family and criminal,” said McTavish, whose future plans are tied to another of the above descriptors. McTavish runs the city’s new art gallery, Atelier – a way of being, located at 321 Hudson Ave. He rented the location in July and has been displaying various artworks from his own collection there, though the gallery won’t formally open until its first exhibition, featuring the paintings and sculptures of longtime Salmon Arm resident and renowned artist Barry Games.

Games grew up in London, England, where his childhood memories were shaped by the aftermath of World War II, reads a media release for the upcoming exhibition. 

“Walking along in the chaos of the bombsites, I remember kicking at the debris, making it move and change, creating little sculptures,” said Games. “As the bombsites greened over with time, I felt a kind of grief for the loss of those moments of creativity, even though we now had wildflowers, trees, and shrubs where there had been none.

“Those joyful days playing in the midst of total carnage are the inspiration for all my art.”

McTavish is lining up more exhibitions for the space, that he views as a potential outlet for Okanagan-Shuswap artists to show their work. 

“My premise is galleries are different than online marketing… because when you go into a gallery it gives anybody a chance just to stop and wonder, ‘What is that artist thinking,’ or ‘my gosh that is beautiful’,” said McTavish, sharing an approach to art that led to his amassing a significant collection of original works. 

“Artists bring their whole lifetime into the works they produce and their sensitivities and their ability to see different than the average person,” said McTavish, adding his favourite artist is Picasso and referencing his 1937 oil painting titled Guernica. “It’s a massive work… it’s a depiction of war in all of its grossness, with the bombing of Guernica in Spain by Franco. Through my lifetime I’ve just loved looking at works of art that were a little bit different.”

McTavish also has other plans for the space. He plans to teach meditation there, and will have an office where he plans to use his skill set in family law to help mediate family disputes. 

“I won’t give legal advice but I have got skills that will help people in resolving family disputes,” said McTavish, referring to mediation as far better process than the adversarial legal route.

Works displayed at the gallery will be available for sale.

The Barry Games exhibition runs Nov. 8 to 29, with an opening reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. The event will feature a meet-and-greet with the artist, light refreshments and snacks and an exclusive first look at Games’ works.

 For more information, visit atelierwob.com.