It all started when a package of watercolour paints arrived at the doorstep of a Langley man’s first Canadian home in Regina, Sask.
Detlef (Dick) Aporta immigrated to Canada from Germany when he was ten years old, and after a lifetime of teaching art in the Lower Mainland, retired in Langley.
Not knowing any English when he first arrived, Aporta immersed himself in a hobby he enjoyed that didn’t require conversation—painting.
His acrylic paintings are now on display at the Centennial Museum in his largest exhibit yet called Always Becoming.
“My grandfather had sent me a container of watercolours from Germany and that got me painting a bit more. Painting was something I knew I could do and something I was in control of, looking back, that didn’t involve language.”
Always Becoming showcases a variety of mixed media paintings. Aporta uses his paintings to depict various stories and people he’s encountered throughout his life.
“My work is always evolving. I feel like I’m always becoming, but never am. I’m never there. I feel like I’m always looking.”
Aporta said his work has been described as ‘eclectic.’
“There’s lots of themes in it.”
Much of Aporta’s work was inspired by the years he spent working at the Canadian White Pine Sawmill in Vancouver that closed in 2001.
In an abstract fashion, the paintings show what it was like working in an industrial era.
“You’re losing your dreams—’why am I even here?'” Aporta explained of one of the paintings.
Some of his earlier pieces depict the Fraser River, where he would sit and paint boats along the river in the 70s.
The largest piece in the exhibit is called On Our Way. The piece is made up of 12 individual canvases that fit together to fill an entire wall.
It’s an abstract piece in which Aporta has pasted small images cut out of calendars throughout.
Aporta tells endless stories about the mill, his life, and his views through his works that can be interpreted in many ways.
After moving to the Lower Mainland from his first home in Regina, Aporta attended the Vancouver School of Art, and then the University of British Columbia where he earned a bachelor of education.
While teaching art in the Richmond School District to pay the bills, Aporta painted in his spare time, and continues to paint into his retirement.
“I can’t not do it. I wish sometimes I just became an engineer. But for me art is a challenge and an opportunity. If I’m doing a good job it gives me permission to do more and feel more than I ever have before. It’s a matter of confidence and doubt for me.”
The exhibit runs from now until Dec. 18 at the Langley Centennial Museum on 9135 King St. in Fort Langley.
For more information about the exhibit, the museum can be reached by email: curator@tol.ca or by phone: 604-532-3536.
