Jan. 14, 2004

Anderson Gallery to present 50-year retrospective of multi-talented outsider artist

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By Malorie Burkett

Virginia Commonwealth University's Anderson Gallery will present "The Wondrous World of L-15: The Multiple Arts and Personae of Bernard G. Schatz" as part of the gallery's winter exhibition.

"Minotaur," which took more than four months to complete, is part of Bernard Schatz's "Greek" series - a collection that comes from the artist's fascination with Greek legends and mythologies. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, Richmond, Va., and image courtesy of Bernard Schatz.
"Minotaur," which took more than four months to complete, is part of Bernard Schatz's "Greek" series - a collection that comes from the artist's fascination with Greek legends and mythologies. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, Richmond, Va., and image courtesy of Bernard Schatz.

The exhibit will be guest curated by outsider arts writer, Tom Patterson, and surveys 50 years of artistic production by Bernard Schatz, a multi-talented visual artist and entertainer with a longstanding liking for temporarily adopting odd monikers and alternate identities to his works.

Schatz's Anderson Gallery exhibit will be the largest and most comprehensive exhibit to date, and will feature over 300 of his works. The exhibit will include handmade signs and props that he displayed and used during his television appearances on the syndicated Steve Allen Show in the 1960s and early 1970s; a large display of his "Aortas" series-painted, tubular objects presented as the aortas of famous, dead, historical figures; humorously grotesque figural sculptures from his "Former Wife" series and a wide array of other, more difficult to categorize pieces that document different stages in his unusual career.

The is the first of Schatz's exhibits in 10 years, and it will be kicked off by the artist with a performance on Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. titled "An Evening with Bernard Schatz" at VCU's Grace Street Theater, 934 W. Grace St. The performance will be followed immediately by the opening reception and premiere of his exhibit at the Anderson Gallery, 907 1/2 W. Franklin St. His exhibit will continue through March 7 during the gallery's regular hours of operation-Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call 828-1522, or visit www.vcu.edu/artweb/gallery.