Art gallery donates to MS cause
"It was an accident," said Corinne Turner, Layton. "Obviously, nobody dreamed this would happen."
Two years ago, Corinne bought the wallpaper at the Ogden liquidation store the Basement. When she unrolled her purchase with husband Stacy, they were surprised to find five pieces of art by renowned Italian-born artist Pino, worth more than $6,000. After contacting Pino's son and finding out the paintings were authentic giclees — a print-making process to resemble high-quality reproductions on canvas — she feared the paintings were stolen. She offered to give them back to the Basement, but the owners said "a deal's a deal."
"That's when we knew it wasn't meant for us," she said.
The Turners and their children discussed what to do with the money. Corinne was diagnosed with MS in 2001 and had been bedridden for two months, so the family decided to donate the money to the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
"We had felt it was good fortune to us, and we wanted to share it with others," Stacy said.
"And since this happened, I've been symptom-free," Corinne said, wiping away tears.
New gallery
Launched through media attention, including an interview on "Good Morning, America," the foundation now carries the work of local and international artists. Most have donated their work so she can frame and resell the pieces at a discount price to fund the foundation. After Pino heard what Corinne was doing with the money from his paintings, he became a regular contributor, has donated hundreds of paintings to DMSF and will only allow Corinne to sell his paintings at discounted prices.
"We never thought that framing would be something that would be our forte but we love it," Corinne says.
Two months ago, pieces were sold at doctor's offices, art shows and even out of the Turners' home. But in March, Corinne and her team of full-time staff and volunteers moved into the south end of The Gateway, a building donated by the plaza, and now have an official home for the pieces: a full-fledged framing gallery appropriately named The Art of Giving.
"I know this is for me now," she says of her work at the gallery.
Corinne and her team have sold the works of more than 100 artists, including relief sculptor Bill Mack, fusion artist Max Gold, sculptor Mark Hopkins and painters JC Pino, Andrei Protsouk, David Schluss and Natasha Barnes. In addition to Pino, Corinne has close friendships with a handful of the artists she works with. JC Pino (no relation to Italian artist Pino) painted a portrait of Corinne, "MS Madonna," and the original is displayed in the gallery. And a few of the artists make sure to donate their number 111 giclee to Corinne, because Jan. 1 is the date Corinne and Stacy were married.
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