Reflective Legacy

CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND WORKS OF HEIDI OBERHEIDE

Reflective Legacy: Celebrating the Life and Works of Heidi Oberheide

This exhibition celebrates the work and legacy of the late Heidi Oberheide, one of the co-founders of St. Michael’s Printshop, who passed away in October 2023 just shy of the shop’s 50th anniversary. The exhibition presents a selection of Heidi’s lithographic works created in the studio from 1974 to 1981, arranged into distinct themes she explored during her time here. The exhibition meditates not only on Heidi’s life and her lasting impact on printmaking in Newfoundland, but also this place, and how she saw herself reflected in it. From snapshots of the original printshop’s windows, to reflections in coastal tide pools, to contemplation on the plight of pothead whales, Heidi’s work reveals a deep connection to this coastal place, and the reciprocal marks she and outport Newfoundland made on one another.

Join us for the opening on Friday, June 7th from 5-7pm.

About Heidi Oberheide

Heidi arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1971 and quickly became an important visual arts contributor through Memorial University’s Extension Service. Her vision of having a print facility was shared by others and in 1972 she and Don Wright established a fledgling print shop first at a building by the airport and then relocated in 1974 to a permanent home in St. Michael’s on the Southern Shore. Heidi was the Director and Resident Printmaker from 1972 to 1981.

The facility attracted master printers from North America as well as artists from around the province, Canada, and the world. As well as the Artist-in-Residence Program, the immersive “Art Acts in a Special Place” residential workshops from 1978-1981, were especially well received. A whole generation of local artists was influenced by the opportunity to use new methods and to interact with visiting artists who in turn learned more about the culture of this place. 

Heidi’s impressive lithographs, drawings and paintings of coastlines, beached whales, seabirds and tidepools reflected the environment surrounding her. Her work is held in many private and institutional collections including in the St. Michael’s Printshop, the Rooms Provincial Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada.

In 1983, Heidi settled in the eastern Palouse region of Washington State and more recently, with her husband of forty years, artist Gaylen Hansen, moved to an island in the Puget Sound. They walked in the woods near their home and painted every day. 

Heidi Oberheide leaves an important and lasting legacy to the culture of this province.