The many faces of John Riegert
Art exhibits usually speak for themselves. But in the case of John Riegert, the name of the current exhibition and the subject of all 243 works in it, he does the talking — to your face.
Visitors to SPACE gallery Downtown will find John Riegert seated in his chair, with a rug, lamp and drawing clipboard nearby, waiting for visitors to ask questions or engage in dialogue.
Curator and graphic designer Brett Yasko came up with the idea for the unusual exhibition after seeing a painting done by an artist at his son’s birthday party. To him, the painting bore a striking resemblance to the work of self-taught painter Joseph Yoakum. When he pointed this out to the artist, she had no idea who Yoakum was.
“I decided to do an experiment: gather all kinds of artists, unknown and known, and ask them to paint the same thing,” Mr. Yasko said.
That “thing” was Mr. Riegert, a friend. Mr. Yasko then emailed more than 400 local artists asking for a portrait done in any medium. A picture was attached to the email,
and he scheduled a few group sittings. Mr. Yasko also offered to make arrangements for individual meetings with Mr. Riegert.
Mr. Yasko expected to hear back from no more than 40 artists because he offered no compensation for materials or time spent on the portraits. Instead, he received work from nearly 250 artists. While many of them used the photo or attended group sittings, about 100 requested individual meetings. Over a year and a half, Mr. Yasko, Mr. Riegert and fellow artist Donna Penoyer met with contributors on riverbanks and in cemeteries, personal studios, coffee shops, and other places.
The whole process is logged in an unflinchingly personal Tumblr account by Mr. Riegert, a 600,000word essay by writer Eric Lidji and a film by Ryan Loew.
Mr. Riegert, who has a long history of mental illness, was grappling with an addiction, the death of his dog and a major breakup during the project. But why was he chosen as the subject?
He has been an active artist off and on for many years, Mr. Yasko said, and he thought his friend might benefit from being brought back into the artist community. Mr. Riegert is also witty, kindhearted and unique, sort of a cross between Santa Claus and the frontman for a punk rock band.
“After meeting him, I realized, of course. It couldn’t be anyone else,” said contributing artist Kristen Letts Kovak.
He was humble and so willing to be vulnerable that he posed nude in his living room for her, she said.
In return, the artist pushed herself out of her comfort zone by using pencil on wood. It’s one of the most vulnerable mediums, she said, because any erase marks are highly visible.
Another memorable artist interaction was with Cecilia Ebitz. She asked Mr. Riegert about a traumatic event in his life so she could make a gift based on it. He told her about how he and his wife had lost a daughter named Lily in a miscarriage.
She made him a lily sculpture and placed an object that represented a loss of her own inside to give the structure emotional and physical weight.
This unusual exhibit offers a glimpse not only into one man but also into Pittsburgh’s rich, collaborative art scene, Ms. Kovak said.
“Pittsburgh encourages you to indulge your whimsy and not take yourself too seriously.”
Mr. Riegert seems nonplussed at being the center of attention. In fact, he applauds visitors who come to the gallery to see his many faces.
“Art is not gonna kill you, but it can be intimidating,” he said. “It takes bravery to come into an art gallery or museum, and I congratulate you.”