ARTIST STATEMENT
My interests and influences stem from many areas; the occult, the metaphysical, the supernatural, the exotic, and my dreams. I'm turned on by the majestic as well as the serene. I enjoy all genre of music, and find it to be influential as I pursue my creative endeavors. I'm turned off by moral dos and don'ts and the inhumane treatment of others stemming from religious dogma and unfounded beliefs.
I begin each work with only a vague idea of what I want to achieve - I have no precise outline or plan.
A simple analogy would be, I draw a line and that line determines where the next line is placed and so on and so forth. If I were to start out with a precise plan, it leaves no room for my creative instincts to surface and the end result misses the effect I am after, instead turning out trite and blasé.
When starting a new work, I do as much research as I can on the subject. Even with a work that differs greatly from the original subject, is it important for me to gain an understanding of the physical properties of the subject. The thinking behind doing this is, with a wider understanding of my subject matter, I am able to sense when the results have achieved what I am after. In this way I can let go and trust the process.
I love to work with clay, it is so plastic and gives me the ability to create ceramic pieces both utilitarian and sculptural. It also forces me to work at a greater pace.
My paintings usually go a lot slower than sculpture. Sometimes I'll come back to a canvas after a time and change it completely. However, I will say, my best works just flow and are done and finished without a great deal of effort.
In conclusion, I feel the most valuable thing for me in my aesthetic quest is the building of a greater visual vocabulary, if you will, so that I am more comfortable with what I am trying to achieve.
BIOGRAPHY
Deral Barton was born in 1934 in Ceder City, Utah. He is an ex-Marine and Korean War Veteran. He studied at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT majoring in drawing and painting with a minor in sculpture. He studied under the instruction of Alvin Gittens, Douglas Snow, and Angelo Caravaglia among others. In 1964 he received a BFA degree and went on to pursue a graduate degree in the University of Utah's MFA program. During this time Deral taught as an associate instructor of ceramics at the University of Utah and he taught painting and drawing at the Utah Art Center from 1963 - 1966.
Deral works in an array of media including oil, acrylic, watercolor, printmaking, and ceramic, plus several different metals and plastic bodies used in jewelry and sculpture. His work has extended into leather as well, owning an operating two successful leather good-based businesses in Salt Lake City, UT: Skin Company Productions, one of the first businesses to reside in and establish the 9th and 9th Community Center back in 1970, and B&B Observatory, which resided in Trolley Square Mall.
His aesthetic references are broad and include everything from classical to Dada, psychedelia, eroticism, symbolism, and Pop Art - the latter which speaks to his career as a commercial artist and illustrator. He has owned and operated his commercial sign business Art & Sign Company since 1968.
Deral lives and works as a full-time artist in Salt Lake City, UT. He is affiliated with Phillips Gallery and Charley Hafen Gallery in Salt Lake City, UT as well as Walter Adams Gallery in San Francisco, CA. His current work is produced in the University of Utah ceramics department at the extension campus in Bountiful, UT where he has worked for the past 15 years. His work is included in the permanent collections of museums and art centers throughout Utah, Wyoming, and Oregon as well as numerous business and private collections.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2012 Solo exhibition, Charley Hafen Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT
2012 Group exhibit, Four Old Geezers; the Last Hurrah, Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT
2011 Solo exhibition, Charley Hafen Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT
2009 Solo exhibition, Walter Adams Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002 Solo exhibition, Walter Adams Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1999 Solo Invitational, Ceramic Ties, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
1995 Group exhibition, Salt Lake Sixties (feat. his works for Iron Butterfly and Canned Heat), Art Barn, SLC, UT
1967 Solo exhibition, Salt Lake City Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT
Solo exhibition, Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT
1966 Regional juried exhibition (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado). Purchase Award received for
painting "Nude," Jackson Hole Art Center
Eighth Inter-mountain Biennial of Painting and Sculpture, juried show. Purchase Award
Seven Utah Artists, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Invitational, Festival of Contemporary Art, New York, New York
1965 Group exhibition, Twelve Utahns: invitational of print making and drawing, Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Solo exhibition, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
1964 Third Inter-mountain Biennial of Painting and Sculpture, juried exhibition, Salt Lake City Art Center
1963 Invitational, University of Utah Union, Salt Lake City, UT
Group exhibition, First Inter-mountain Print Show, Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Solo exhibition, Weltech College, Salt Lake City, UT
1962 Invitational, The New Generation, Salt Lake City, UT
AWARDS / PUBLICATIONS
2012 Sculpture commission, Kimball Arts Center benefit, Strong Porsche, Salt Lake City, UT
1999 Artists of Utah, Book. Robert Olpin. William Seifrit. Vern Swanson. Springville Museum and George S.
and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation
1966 Purchase Award, Eighth Inter-mountain Biennial, Salt Lake Art Center
1966 Purchase Award, First Annual Jackson Hole Art Exhibition, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
1963 Gold Award, Ceramics, University of Utah Art Festival, Salt Lake City, UT
1962 Gold Award, Ceramics, University of Utah Art Festival, Salt Lake City, UT
1962 Silver Award, Graphic Arts, Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, UT
EDUCATION
1964 BFA University of Utah
TEACHING
1961 – 62 Associate instructor of ceramics, University of Utah
1966 – 68 Painting instructor, Salt Lake Art Center