Lakewood artist Richard Treaster's works hang in public and private collections all over the United States, yet Cleveland, Ohio, remains at the geographical center of his creative and personal life, and maps remain at the center of his creative oeuvre.
Treaster, who grew up in Lorain, Ohio, spent the last assignment in his Air Force tour of duty at Loring AFB in Limestone, Maine, as a draftsman for the Strategic Air Command. It was there that he learned to be a surveyor, and his fascination with cartography began. It was also a useful skill to bring back to Cleveland after his service. He joined a civil engineering firm working as a surveyor to pay his way through the Cleveland Institute of Art.
After he received his B.F.A. in 1961, his career as a full-time artist began. Treaster has never had to submit to the creative compromise of a "day job," but has always been able to make his living as an artist. He was on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Art from 1966 to 1980, but curtailed his teaching activities as his schedule of exhibitions grew. Now in his 70s, Treaster looks back at his exhibition career and says, "It's so monumental to try to do a one-man show--now I wouldn't even consider it,." where in the early 1980s, he was doing one or two each year.
For Treaster, the creative process is about exploring the unknown. "My purpose is not to do what I know, but what I don't know," he says. He begins each painting by "getting a bunch of stuff, putting it on the floor, switching it around, adding and removing objects to create a composition." Then he paints an image of the composition. The "stuff" always includes a map or maritime chart, and an arrangement of still-life objects that complement the theme of the painting.
The description of the process makes more sense when you see his work. Below is "C. W. Transit," the original of which hangs in the Chief Engineer's office at the Richard E. Jacobs Group, the development company run by former Cleveland Indians owner Dick Jacobs. Treaster says it's the favorite of the corporate art consultant who represents him. "They were always dragging people into that engineer's office to see this painting," he laughs.
C. W. Transit, 40" x 60"
"Since I worked for the civil engineering firm downtown, I know a lot about the layout of Cleveland. Doing the research is one of the things that's fun about these paintings," says Treaster.
The art boom of the Eighties was Treaster's break into the big time. "There was a phase when corporate art was a big deal," he remembers. "They (the corporate art consultant who represents him) called me. I don't know how they heard of me, but they keep me happy. I have no need to leave." Treaster's work now hangs in the offices of over eighty corporations, as well as in a number of public collections at museums, college and universities throughout the United States.
Treaster is pleased to have been able to work from his Lakewood home. But don't all the famous artists live in New York? Treaster laughs. "It's not the kind of environment most artists want to live in. New York artists look at other New York artists and do the same things. Staying here, my view is different."