Realism in painting is a movement that is deeply divided in its outlook. It embraces many contradictory aspirations and has generated much controversy even in its own ranks. For these reasons, Wim Blom, who paints in a style which must be called Realist, mistrusts fashion and the vagaries of critical taste. He has succeeded in maintaining his independence from the principal trends that can at present be included under the heading of Realism. Wim Blom’s work is conceived for private contemplation and makes it special appeal to those who wish to savour at close range the artist’s particular way with form, colour, texture and light. If the size of his work invites intimate, meditative inspection, his subject matter - single objects, still life, interiors - extend an analogous invitation. In this patient, selected and passionate search, the realism of his paintings is faithful to the object represented, but it transcends reality and is submerged beneath poetic transformation. Wim Blom’s training as an art historian has made him acutely aware of history, it’s meaning and heritage. The methods of historical research instilled in him have blended with the connoisseurship he acquired as the research curator at the National Gallery of Canada. This conjunction informs his work as a painter. His paintings and drawings represent a quiet, unpublished vanguard of their own, so radically steeped in tradition as to be new and offers a fresh artistic experience. In the context of contemporary art it is fascinating to see how Wim Blom’s exploration of the past produces results with an emphatically modern flavour.