Artist Profile: Barbara Rowlett-Rheingrover

By Ellen Samsell Salas

 

Sculptor, painter, teacher, wife, mother, and grandmother, Canton resident Barbara Rowlett-Rheingrover has lived by her belief that “Life’s a gift, and you have to give it away.” In her 45 years of sculpting and painting, Rowlett-Rheingrover’s mission has been to help all people experience the wonder of art.

“I pray over my work,” Rowlett-Rheingrover said, “that people will enjoy it, be enhanced by it, be uplifted by it.”

Over the years, in both mediums, her work has become more abstract, as she attempts to capture light, energy, and movement and “to stimulate viewers’ imaginations to see not only with their eyes but also with their hearts.”

Rowlett-Rheingrover, who studied and had a studio in Italy for 15 years, is perhaps best known for her sculpture Ovation, created in honor of the 1996 Olympic athletes and now on the campus of Georgia Tech. Done in white Carrara marble, the 10-foot sculpture evokes the strength and grace of athletes. Flowing upward like a flame, its curves move the viewer’s eye with them, and characteristic of Rowlett-Rheingrover’s sculptures, Ovation’s contours and planes, curves and defined edges, smooth and rough textures invite touch. Whether they are experiencing her signature heart sculptures or her abstract works, as with Ovation, the viewer wants to move with her works’ lines and feel their sheen as well as their rougher surfaces.

Rowlett-Rheingrover sculpts in stone, clay, and bronze, hoping to convey “the feeling within me, the joy.” Sometimes, she has a concept in mind, but other times she is guided by the stone.

“The stone speaks to you,” Rowlett-Rheingrover said. “It’s so freeing. A stone has never been looked into or touched by anyone. It’s spiritual. Will it be a heart or an abstract?”

Although she uses power tools, she is more connected to the stone when working with hand tools.

“Power tools make the work go a lot faster, but you lose some of the heart. When you do it slow, you put your whole heart into it.”

Now 77, Rowlett-Rheingrover proclaims she has 20 more years of creating. She works daily, moving from sculpting to painting, which she terms “contemporary impressionism with a hint of realism.” In an array of colors, some canvasses burst with bold brushstrokes that mirror the curves and dynamism of her sculptures; others, while also colorful, more quietly depict flowers and trees in quicker brushwork characteristic of impressionism. Working in acrylics, she engages with the painting as it evolves, “layering, moving from dark to light,
light to dark.”

Rowlett-Rheingrover gets up each day, has a cup of coffee, and, with her husband, watches the birds and other wildlife in their yard. She then retreats to her studio.

“You get going, and cares float away. You’re in your own world — it’s heaven,” she said. “I’ve reached the pinnacle of what an artist hopes to do. I’ve given of my art and life, and now I’m enjoying the freedom to create whatever I want to, when I want. If someone loves it and wants to buy it, that’s wonderful. Life’s a gift, and you need to give it away.”

To view more of Rowlett-Rheingrover’s work, visit BarbaraRheingrover.com or TaylorKinzelGallery.com/collections/barbara-rheingrover.