Talking with Richard Ferguson

There are only 2 days left to see "Caught in the Moment", 611 N. Tillamook, Portland, OR. I visited today with Richard Ferguson, Director of Genre, Art Advocacy Center (GA2C) and Curator of "Caught in the Moment":

CB: Ok, you are the curator, are you an artist too?

RF: Yes, “they” made me put a couple of my pieces in, I resisted, but “they” won. *

CB: I’ve heard that the paintings are from all over the US?

RF: The majority of paintings are regional, meaning Portland and Oregon. I would say 75%. Paintings by artists from other states represent the remaining 25%.

CB: How did you make your selections?

RF: Artists were invited to show based on their demonstrated ability of what might be called realism, modern realism, classical realism and painterly representational.

CB: Tell me, if you have time, how did the idea for this show came about?

RF: Yes, I certainly have time. I believe all curators should be on hand to answer any question. People who visit galleries generally don't get to meet the curator, much less ask any questions. It shouldn’t be that way. These days when a person visits a gallery there might be no one there at all, much less the person who made decisions about the show. It is my personal mission to make changes in that regard. I know that it is a huge undertaking, but I believe that education for gallery goers as well as artists can change things. I feel that way and so do the others involved in Genre/Ga2C.

We’ve noticed that many galleries aren’t showing much work that can be classified as classic or traditional...We are advocates for traditional painting.

CB: What do you mean, exactly..that it shouldn’t be that way?

RF: The general population loves this type of work (gesturing to the paintings). They can’t get enough of it when it is shown. Recently at a museum I stood 5 people deep in order to see a Bouguereau. Realism is immensely popular, but critics still cover mostly “modern” work. Genre hopes to put more and more traditional work in front of people and to get critics involved too…in order to start a dialog.

CB: A dialog?

RF: Look, I would not expect to buy a ticket to the Symphony..go there and then learn that no one knows how to play. I would be very put off if I bought a ticket to attend a Trailblazer game only to spend an entire evening watching a team that didn’t know how to play basketball. When we go to galleries, shouldn’t we be rewarded with art that has been produced by people who have trained properly? The whole concept that art (that is any good) has to be “anything goes” is simply not accurate. We hope to invite dialog about the subject of contemporary traditional art among educators, artists, critics and art supporters and appreciators.

CB: What’s next for Genre GA2C?

RF: In September of this year we propose to launch another show that will encompass the natural world, figure and landscape. It won’t be in this location, it will be somewhere else (to be determined)…but we will implement all the same standards that we have in place here. We’ll find artists in the same way we did for this show. It will be outlined on our website.

CB: You did an outstanding job here.

RF: Thanks, I really am proud of it.


*editor's note: Richard Ferguson’s pieces were/are beautiful. He not only has a very keen eye as a curator, I guess we will have to just classify him as a modest man as well.

(Click on photos to enlarge)