Winnipeg Art Gallery unveils Karel Funk show Friday night

The most comprehensive survey of Karel Funk's work ever on display will open at the Winnipeg Art Gallery Friday night.

Funk is an internationally-renowned artist with works everywhere from the Guggenheim to the Whitney in New York to the National Art Gallery of Canada.

"There's two sources of inspiration for my paintings — art historical references to Renaissance portraiture, which I love and also an urban experience where in a busy day if you're downtown or on a bus or on a busy street corner, you're very close to strangers," Funk said at a preview of the show on Thursday. "When you're that close to a stranger, you can kind of see some intimate details, you know, the space behind their ear, maybe some dandruff on their shoulder. Those kind of daily experiences inform my work."

Funk is from and based in Winnipeg and said much of his work is influenced by his time spent on the city's street corners.

"There are times when I do go out in Winnipeg, I do have those experiences. That's where that inspiration comes from -- from here in the city," he said.

The show spans 15 years of Funk's work and is the largest ever public showing of his work.

"It covers a lot of the little changes I've done in the work over the years," said Funk.

It's also Funk's first solo show in his home town.

Friday night, the Winnipeg Art Gallery will reveal the collection at a free public opening from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Next weekend, the gallery is screening a short documentary on Funk, directed by Winnipeg filmmaker Caelum Vatnsdal.

The screening is scheduled for June 12 at 2 p.m., and Funk will be there to discuss the film with viewers after.

The show will run into September.