When Tattoo artists and visionaries Kurt Wiscombe and Alex Adams aren't globetrotting at conventions in Evian, France or Toronto's Northern Ink Xposure or visiting at the Leu Family's Family Irons in Switzerland and Paul Booths Last Rites in NYC, they while away the days at there tattoo studio on Portage Ave. or painting in their Victorian home.
When I say they spend time painting, it is not a casual hobby, but devoted compassion. They have both been putting brush to canvas for hours every week when not running one of Winnipeg's (make that Canada's) most established and respected tattoo studios. As you can imagine, painting for hours a week, year after year, they have accumulated quite the collection of artwork. Over the past several years they have bounced around the idea of opening an art gallery to house their work for friends and clients to take it all in and have a place to meet with their peers and perhaps do art shows of not only their own work but the works of friends too.
"The space next store to the shop was perfect" Kurt says, "But someone was always there. So when it finally became available, we grabbed it up". The gallery didn't open right away though, between their busy work schedule the longtime companions took a side trip last year to Vinci, Italy to tie the knot and end their life of livin' in sin. Of course, right after the wedding they went to Milan, Italy and worked a tattoo convention, then back home to work on the gallery until they came to Toronto in June for another tattoo convention, then returned to open the gallery just a couple weeks after.
What a great opening it was for the Skull and Bones Gallery. I had known Kurt and Alex for about twelve years but this was my first trip to their hometown of Winnipeg , Manitoba. To those from outside Canada, a city pretty well about at the half way point in the country, and having Gallery on Highway one, the transcanada highway, puts it pretty well smack dab in the middle of Canada, (see map).
The opening was on both Friday and Saturday, the first night was reserved for close friends and family, a VIP night if you will with the wine and cheese, typical artshow fare, but the original skull and bones logoed cookies from Alex made it like Halloween in July, I guess at the Skull and Bones gallery every day has a lil Halloween in it. It was fun to meet people who work them and the families in such a cool spot. The walls are adorned with beautifully, mostly antique, framed work from them both which they have painted over the years and although their styles are as different from each other as Kurt and Alex are themselves, their artwork makes a great fit together just as they do in life.
On Saturday the official opening reception brought in many tattoo collectors and artists from the surrounding community and the hard work that has been put into the Skull and Bones had finally come to fruition. Everyone was happy to see a place for tattooists, artists and fans to enjoy the work from our genre had opened inWinnipeg . Kudos to Kurt and Alex for having the dedication to make it all happen. They want to show different works and do shows with contemporaries in future also, so to keep up with what is going on or to find out how to make an appointment to view the works in the gallery just point your browser over to their online info page, or enjoy the pics and videos we have posted here.
Winnipeg's Dark Secret, the 
Skull and Bones gallery every day has a 
