Rick Bartow in his studio south of Newport
April should probably be called Rick Bartow month here in Eugene.
At the age of 68, Bartow is one of the most amazing — and most acknowledged — artists working in the state. Between his compelling personal history, his Native American ancestry and his prodigious output of visionary images, Bartow has already left an indelible mark on the cultural history of the Northwest – and he’s still hard at work.
He will be here Friday night with his Portland gallerist, Charles Froelick, to give a First Friday Art Talk at the Hult Center’s Studio. The talk, which will include slides of Bartow’s work, starts at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, with a no-host bar in the adjoining Jacobs Gallery. I’m moderating their discussion
This talk is put on by Lane Arts Council (where I’m on the board) with sponsorship from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and Eugene’s Cultural Services Division.
Bartow’s appearance on Friday comes in conjunction with two shows of his work opening here in town. The first opened today at the Schrager-Clarke Gallery, which is showing a collection of Bartow’s prints through May 16. The gallery is at 760 Willamette Street, right across from the Hult.
I’ve been in to see the exhibit briefly. It’s gorgeous, and a great appetizer for the bigger show that’s coming up at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art later this month.
Schrager-Clarke will be holding a reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday evening as part of the First Friday Art Walk. Bartow and Froelick are expected to swing by the reception for a few minutes after the Art Talk wraps up around 6:45 or 7 p.m.
The other, more extensive exhibit of Bartow’s work opens April 18 and runs through August 9 at the JSMA.
Things You Know but Cannot Explain is a career retrospective, with more than 100 of Bartow’s prints, paintings, drawings and sculpture reaching back into the 1970s. It was co- curated by Jill Hartz, the museum’s executive director; Danielle Knapp, the JSMA’s McCosh associate curator; and Lawrence Fong, former curator of American and regional art at the museum.
I haven’t yet seen the work in the Schnitzer show, but I’ve read over the gorgeous catalog (copies will be for sale at the Art Talk Friday evening), and I expect the exhibit to be stunning.
Born in Newport, a member of the Wiyot tribe, Bartow studied art at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, where he graduated in 1969. That same year he was drafted and sent to Vietnam.
Overseas, though ostensibly working as a clerk, Bartow — who is also an adept musician — began performing on guitar for friends, at parties, and ultimately for badly wounded soldiers and hospitals. He came home with a Bronze Star for his service, and a bad drinking habit.
After some time lost in alcoholism, he dried out and became serious about his art.
Today his work can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution, where in 2012 Bartow installed the monumental We Were Always Here, two large carved western red cedar poles, reminiscent of totems, at the National Museum of the American Indian.
His work is also at the Portland Art Museum, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, and at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis.
He has worked with printmakers around the world, including his good friend Seiichi Hiroshima, who will be in Eugene during April teaching a printmaking workshop with Bartow at Lane Community College.
The list of other events associated with the JSMA show is extensive. You can read the whole thing here.
Among the highlights are, of course, the opening reception at the Museum on April 17, where rumor has it that Bartow, who still performs in a rock ‘n roll band in Newport, may play guitar, and an artists’ tribute the following day at the museum, bringing such other arts world notables as James Lavadour and Lillian Pitt to town to talk about Bartow’s work.