Perseverance, an art exhibit by Rick Bartow, opens on Thursday, November 6th
and runs through December 12th at the Clatsop Community College Art Center
Gallery. Bartow, one of the Northwest’s most celebrated artists, will be
honored at the opening reception on Thursday, November 6th at 6:00 p.m.
Bartow will also be serving as juror for CCC’s 2009 international juried
competition Au Naturel: the Nude in the 21st Century. The Art Center
Gallery is accepting submissions for the competition through December 15th,
2008.
Bartow is an extremely accomplished figurative artist who works in a wide
range of media. He is represented by Froelick Gallery in Portland, and has
received many honors, including a solo exhibit at The Smithsonian’s National
Museum of the American Indian (New York, 2003), The Eiteljorg Museum’s
Fellowship for Native American Fine Art (Indianapolis, 2001), a year-long
installation in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at The White House (1997-98),
a Flintridge Foundation Fellowship (2001-02) and an interview on National
Public Radio with Ketzel Levine (2003). Since 1997, Bartow has collaborated
with Mas¬ter Japanese Printmaker Seiichi Hiroshima to create drypoints and
monotypes.
When viewing Bartow’s artwork, the immediate impact of his raw, visceral
mark-making creates a physical presence reminiscent of Abstract
Expressionism; yet in many of his works there is also a delicate sensitivity
and ephemeral quality of astonishing technical skill. Exploring the
inextricably linked extremes of the human soul, from despair to triumph and
from pain to passion and/or pleasure, Bartow creates a vision that
vacillates somewhere between waking and dreaming, past and present. Member
of the Wiyot tribe, Vietnam veteran, accomplished blues musician, and
traveler to the furthest reaches of the globe, Bartow draws upon his own
personal experience as well as his ancestral heritage for inspiration.
Sometimes referring to his artwork as “medicine,” Bartow explains his
engagement with the creative art process as a means to navigate through
difficult periods of his life. The visual result often strikes a chord that
resonates deeply among viewers of his art.
It is clear that Bartow feels a strong affinity for the natural environment
of his Oregon home, and a special affinity for the animal kingdom,
particularly the wildlife of the Northwest. His art is populated with
birds, bears, and coyotes, as well as strange hybrids that are both animal
and human, recalling the visible and invisible forces of the natural and
spiritual worlds, and suggesting the powerful stories of Native American
myth. His striking piece entitled Bear’s Song, for example, is both poetic
and fierce, and features energetic gestural marks that emerge from a vibrant
field of reds, yellows, and oranges. As a whole, Perseverance is a show that
embodies the spirit of an artist whose creative work speaks of a
determination to overcome life’s inevitable challenges and ultimately
reflects a journey that is rich, full, and deeply experienced.
The CCC Art Center Gallery is located at 1653 Jerome Avenue in Astoria, OR.
This event is free and open to the public. The Art Center Gallery is ADA
accessible. Please contact Kristin Shauck at (503) 338-2472 or Scott Reuter
at (503) 338-2478 for more information.
Artists interested in submitting artwork for the 2009 Au Naturel juried
competition may contact Kristin Shauck at (503) 338-2472 or visit our
website at www.clatsopcc.edu and click on the News link: Download the Au
Naturel Prospectus here.
Clatsop Community College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity
institution.
