Stew Henderson on his Dual Careers of Fine Artist and Senior Preparator for Art Museums

And today I am speaking with artists Stu Henderson, who is affiliated with the Portland art gallery, and actually happens to be located in the Portland art gallery this morning. Thank you very much for having this conversation with me today, Stu, I'm happy to be here. Thank you. You have some very interesting work and I love the fact that, uh, behind you, you have your green tea work, which has, uh, kind of geometric shapes, but also kind of a swirling line. And then behind me, we have, um, the bowling composition, which similarly has shapes and then the swirling line, different, uh, different colors. You tend to do things in a series. Absolutely. And I think a lot of artists work that way you, um, in the studio, you work on ideas and then something that really resonates or something that you, uh, think you can go further with you then get involved more with a serious body of work. So in this bowling composition, um, behind me, what was your, what was your inspiration? What got you started down that path? Well, this is from a series I think about 18 years ago called linear collage. And I wanted to use collage a little differently. I didn't want to put pieces of imagery together to form something else. I wanted to use small bits of, um, images to kind of create, uh, a narrative in a way, a linear narrative that you would go around and around and read. And most of the imagery that I used, uh, from all different sources will just be fragments of something. So I'm really using these things for their color and their shape. Uh, and then every once in a while I would drop in, uh, something that you recognize. So in the bowling composition, it would be the bowling pin. And in the piece behind me, it would be, um, uh, a bowl of green tea. Uh, and then this swirling motion would be set on top of it. Uh, you know, kind of a hard edge, uh, geometric pattern. There's something very musical to me about these pieces, but it's not as musical as some of the other pieces that you've done. Uh, that seems to be a theme that runs through a lot of your work is music. Well, music is, um, in our family and I listened to music in the studio. So I think it's always there. Uh, and you know, actually some of the titles of this particular series were called compositions because of, uh, compositions in music. So I think, um, that's a, a valid observation for sure. Uh, when you're, when you're in the studio, creating types of music, do you listen to, It depends what I'm working on. If I'm, if I'm have to solve something that's really, um, difficult or something that I'm having a hard time with, I don't have any sound, but most of the time I put on, uh, either classical or jazz, rarely the radio, and if I'm building something like panels or something that it's just like mechanical work, then I really, um, you know, get a little louder with, you know, more rock type music. So, yeah. So it sounds like you're, you kind of try to influence your brain patterns with the music externally or somehow keep your, your brain, your neurons engaged in a way. Well, I think I, I'm very aware of how it affects how I think I, if I, if I'm really stuck on a particular section of a piece, I can't have loud blaring music. I just can't, um, it's a distraction. And, but other times there's music that I think helps me get, uh, to that place for you just kind of forget everything else and focus on what's in front of you. So kind of this idea of flow of, of kind of being in the moment and going with whatever direction you need to be going in. Exactly. Exactly. I understand that, um, your son in particular also has a musical background and I've, I've heard him play before and as part of his band, Yes, he's a musician and he's, um, here in Portland now he has a recording studio and he is with a band, but like almost all other bands in the country or in the world, there's no touring. So he also writes and records music for other projects. So, uh, yeah, we, we, we have always had bands at the house, you know, growing up, so, you know, it was good. It was fun. Did you encourage him in, uh, in his music? Did you play the type of music that you listened to in your studio for him when he was growing up? Oh, absolutely. Um, we, my wife and I always encouraged, uh, his, uh, music and his band is called bronze radio return. And the reason for that is when he was growing up, I had in my studio, a very old, uh, Zenith, uh, radio tube, radio, and, um, that's what we listened to. It was my grandfather's and he thought it was a bronze radio. So when he started this band, that's what he called it. I was already surprised at that, but, um, that's how he got the name for his band. Did your parents encourage you in, uh, your art path? I know that you you've had kind of a parallel path in your work with Colby college and their museum, but in your work as an artist, did your parents in any way, um, suggest that this might be a good direction to go in? Or did they have art around the house for you to pay attention to? Yes. Uh, my mother was very encouraging. Um, she was an artist. Uh, she studied art and my father was, um, tolerant. I always considered him like a civilian in the art world, but, um, he was, he was fine with it. My mother was more supportive and I think, uh, back, uh, I was thinking about this the other day when I was quite young, she took me and my brother to see the Mona Lisa. The one time it came to the U S when it came to the met, I think it was in, Oh, golly, I want to say 64, 65. I forget now, but, and I, and I still can remember that, um, uh, being there and all those people there to see this one painting, I thought it was amazing. Uh, and then many years later when I was in Paris with my wife, we went and saw it again. It was great to bring that memory back When you were in Paris, were you in that situation where you're, you're standing in front of the Mona Lisa, and then in front of you, there's all these rows of people with their, their phones up in the air. And everybody's taking a picture of a picture of a picture. Did you, do you have that experience when you were in Paris? At that point? We had, we got good advice from somebody who said, if you're going to go get your tickets the day before, and then, you know, when the door opens go. And so our plan was to go in and hit the few pieces that we really had to see and then spend the rest of the time going through the whole museum. But I know exactly what you're talking about. There's it gets a little crazy. Um, and it, the amount of, uh, crowds that come through, uh, with all the cameras. So we did get the stand actually in the front row, uh, in front of Mona Lisa. So it was great. And my wife said, my wife said, that's a really small painting. I said, yeah, that's not that big. No, it's so true. I had the, I had the exact same thought when I went in there and you see all this enormous crowd of people, and then you look at the wall and it's, it's really quite modest and in size. And it's amazing that this is the thing that people, the world over have decided, okay, I need to see this because it's something that's been part of my understanding for so long, You know, um, another one surprised me there to lose the most was, uh, studying art history. Uh, a lot of the pieces that I learned Renaissance piece and so on are like this big, because they're in the book, but, you know, some of might see and they were huge and it's, you know, it really took me back. I never really thought about scale when I was, you know, learning about them. So that was, uh, that was a real treat. I think That's really true when I was doing courses in humanities and they would do art history. Of course, they put the slides out in front of everybody and everything is exactly the same size. So until you're actually standing in front of it, you don't, you can know what the size is kind of in an abstract way, but you don't really experience the size of it until you're right there. You know, that's true. And, you know, uh, another place that caught me like that was down in Sarasota is as crazy as Salvador Dali museum. And, uh, again, that's another artist that you see in books on posters and stuff. And, uh, but some of his paintings are just massive and, uh, it was just great to see, uh, them in there in real life. You know, You spent some time, I believe, as an intern with a sculptor or two of some renown, um, did that in any way shape the art that you do now? Uh, the first apprenticeship I did was to a teacher I had at Hartford art school, um, Wolfgang, Beale, Ted Beal. And I worked with him in his Berkshire studio working on sculpture. And that's mostly what I did in, uh, through art school with sculpture. So that was all metal work. Um, and that was pretty interesting. And then I worked for a woman Lynn Emory who just passed away actually in new Orleans. And again, she did huge, uh, kinetic sculptures and, you know, what I took away from that, um, just work ethic. And w w when I graduated from art school, I didn't want to go, I didn't want to keep in school. I wanted to go out and learn how it works. So that's what got me on the apprentice track. And, uh, uh, bill hooked me up with Lynn Emory down in new Orleans. And I went and lived down there, but that's when I was impressed. I was impressed on how they, how they did their work, how they did their careers, um, using outside resources, uh, you know, it was more like the, um, how an artist works, I think is what I took away from it. You spent many years working for Colby college in the art museum, and this was an important part of, um, again, as I said, a parallel path for you, w what types of, uh, what types of experiences did you come away from that line of work with? Well, um, that's a good question. You know, um, people ask me if, if it influenced the things I make and I, I think the influence I got from working in a museum are, um, more physical than, um, conceptual. And by that, I mean, I learned how to handle art correctly. I learned how to work with art, uh, a certain way. And so it taught me how to handle my own work and, and, um, store my own work and that kind of thing. But, uh, it was a great experience. I was there during a very transformative time for that museum. Um, you know, when I started, it was like four or five people work there. And when I left, there was 25 and it went from being a, uh, a little museum and a college for the kids never went to, to, um, you know, have national recognition. So it was a very important time, I think, a lot got done. Um, I learned, uh, I met a lot of different artists, which was great. Um, I got to travel quite a bit because I also worked as a courier and I would go to, um, uh, Spain or Germany or France or California or wherever to transport art. So it was a lot of good experiences and I learned a lot about it and, uh, about, uh, how the, that part of the art world works, which was great. And, um, so, uh, I was glad to do it, but I, you know, I was also ready to retire and just get into my own thing full time. So, So just logistically, I'm kind of interested in this idea as a courier. You're, you're the person who makes sure that the art is packaged appropriately makes it onto the plane, makes it off of the plane, makes it over to its museum or other owner. Is that, is that generally the approach, Right? You like, say from Colby, um, you would create a work, say it's a painting and, um, a truck would come pick it up and you would get on the truck and they would take you down to the airport. And, uh, you go to the warehouse or where they load stuff and you watch them put your crate on, um, a special pallet, and then you go inside and then a state trooper will stay with that until it gets on the plane. And you can see it on the tarmac. They used to let you on the tarmac, but not anymore. And you watch it go on the plane, then you get on the plane. And, um, w when you have the air with you, you get to fly like business or first class, which is lovely. And, um, then when it gets off, it's the same thing in reverse. You get on a, uh, you watch it come off, you get on the, with the drivers, and hopefully it's not, um, too far. And, uh, then you watch it unload. And, but, you know, some people, you know, they'll get on, uh, the truck and they'll go from here to Houston, you know? And, um, I never had to do one that long, uh, the long, but, um, it's interesting. Um, there's a lot of protocols to follow for sure. And then you have to look at, you have to look at the work and make sure that, Oh, it didn't get damaged or, um, you know, nothing fell off of it or something. And then you have to watch as they install it on the wall. And once it's on the wall, I can't move until somebody comes back to watch it being taken down. So, and Colby, uh, exchanges art with museums all over the world. And there's, you know, some shows there's like 20 couriers and sometimes there's none. So Was that ever nerve wracking in any way that you had something so valuable that you had, you know, a state trooper out there watching this and that you could only touch things at a certain time. And, uh, there was a value ascribed to it. That was probably more than most of the values of our homes. You know, when your occur, you can't say that you're a courier, you know, when you have are, you know, you can't say, Hey, I got a million dollar painting with me. It's just, um, it, but it's an interesting thing when you mentioned, um, the value of art and handling it because every day you handle, uh, millions of dollars worth of art. And if you think about that a lot, you will get really nervous. I think you just have to be really careful and try not to think of like, Oh boy, I hope I don't wreck it. Uh, you just, you know, hopefully what you've learned in your training, uh, let you handle that stuff without worrying about it. So I'm kind of picturing, uh, you know, the guy with the suitcase, with the handcuff around his hand and the suitcase. Obviously that's not what you're describing. You're describing art being in a cargo world, but, um, Exactly, exactly. And sometimes if it's a lot, like if you're sending a lot of stuff to a big show, then it goes on a cargo plane, you know, not a passenger plane. It goes on a huge, like freight carrying, uh, plane, which, uh, and, you know, you sit up in an area where you're right behind the pilots. Um, I haven't had to do that. I've always been on passenger planes. So as you're creating your own art, are you thinking to yourself? Hmm. Maybe someday somebody is going to be currying my thing. So I don't think that's a word, but I'm bringing my works of art somewhere and it's going to be that valuable. And I'm going to have somebody who's going to be treating my pieces with kid gloves. Well, you know, that's, that's a rabbit hole. You really want to go start thinking about your work in the future. I don't know. I do know that, um, having a couple of pieces in a museum, uh, will ensure that something left of you who, you know, will go on and on because they, you know, take care of the work forever. But as far as like, I don't know, uh, when you're making it, you're just thinking about how to make it good. I don't know if I want to think about where it's going to end up. So it would be kind of too much in your head to be always considering that something that you're working on could be a legacy piece for you. Well, there are pieces that I've made that I consider more important than others, just by virtue of, um, where they were relative to the series they're in, uh, you know, maybe some paintings took, you know, like a year to paint, uh, or on a larger scale. Um, so pieces like that, I think have a little more weight than other pieces. A lot of these pieces behind me and behind you, they, they were in a, a show at the Farnsworth museum in Rockland and they, so they have some museum provenance so that they have a little more weight perhaps. But, um, I think, yeah, not, you know, I'm not one of those artists that thinks that everything I make is a masterpiece. I think some pieces are stronger than others. And, um, I don't hold on to things that I don't think are really successful because I just, I don't want them left behind A couple of the pieces that I've had the opportunity to look at, um, are in a series called DBP DBP, number six, DPP number seven. Um, and you've told me that these, um, had to do with some work that your daughter was doing at the time. Um, describe, describe these pieces for me and, and tell me, um, what was important about using those at that time in your trajectory? The DVP stands for dapping block print and adapting block is a tool that jewelers use. And my daughter at that time was a jeweler. And in fact, for a little while she was sharing, um, part of my studio to work in, which is how I got my hands on her dapping block, but it's essentially a metal cube, six side metal cube, maybe three inches on each side. And it has bowl shaped, uh, holes, um, indentations in it that you could hammer thin metal into to make different shapes. So I used it to print with a rolled, um, anchor, acrylic, paint on it and print it with it. Uh, and to me, those, and then some of them have collage with it too. And some of them are just the print, but, uh, to me, I, they look when I printed them, they looked like they could be, you were overhead looking at, uh, some kind of building, uh, uh, so that's how I talk to those. So I still have it. I never gave her back the, the happy block. I still have it. So someday, maybe you could revisit if you want it to. Well, yeah, maybe We're not. I mean, it seems like when I look at your series, it, they seem very discreet in there. You know, you have this series and then you have the next series and you actually have a remarkably diverse, uh, set of works that you've done, which is not common to all artists. Some artists really, they have a theme and they stick with it pretty much from beginning to end. No, that's true. Um, a lot, there are artists that have a signature look and stay with it, but, um, art for me is more an opportunity to, um, you know, use my hands and my mind and be creative to do different things. So I like to explore and I like to, um, experiment with things and, um, sometimes one series will lead directly into another and you'll see a, uh, a tie, but other times, um, I'll just find another direction. Like, for example, um, before COVID, I had this series of called the patent series and it was all worked on from my grandfather's. Uh, he was a patent lawyer and I had all these old books that he had of patents and they were just, uh, gorgeous. So I did a whole series on that, and then I retired and I, uh, COVID hit and I was thinking, but do I want to continue this series or do I want to try something else? So I, I just started working with plaster, working with metal, working with stone, just different things. And then I ended up, um, working with paint and the new series, uh, that, uh, will be here at the Portland art gallery. Um, I started to experiment with pouring paint onto my LAR letting it dry, then cutting out those porch shapes and then taking those shapes and lame stencils over them and painting on top of that. So in a sense, they're almost since they're like these cut-out, uh, Organica flowing shapes and I'm reassembling them into, um, on panels. It's like collaging with paint and it's like painting on paint. So I, to me, it's like trying to find something a little different and, uh, see how much I can get away with as far as, uh, different materials. It's interesting that you have been, um, kind of had this ongoing curiosity with different types of methods and different types of materials, um, knowing that some people will, as I said, some people will kind of mostly do. I dunno, let's say watercolors and acrylics, or, you know, they'll mostly be this or mostly be that, but for you, you don't seem to get too locked into, I have to do this because I've always done it this way. You kind of give yourself permission to explore and, um, have an open mind about things. You know, I have to say, um, my approach to art is, um, it shouldn't be dictated by a lot of rules or conventions where you have to do this. You have to, you should do this. I think, um, for me, it's, I have to do what interests me. If, if, if you asked me to paint the same painting over and over for years, I'm just, I can't do it. It's um, to me that's not, um, uh, the process that I want to pursue. So I like, uh, um, I can't tell you what I'm going to be making two years from now. I just don't know. It all depends what comes into my life, what will affect me, what materials I'll find, or maybe I'll be someplace and see something that I'd like to, you know, uh, work off of. Um, I don't know. That's what keeps it interesting for me, if it's not interesting, I don't want to, I don't want to do it. You have a show coming up in June with the art gallery. Uh, do you have any special plans and things you've been working on for that? Yes. Um, for the last year and a half, I've been working on a series that actually I started this series. I called a pandemic because here's where we are. But the, um, uh, the series itself, even within this series itself, that evolved, I started painting with, um, those little plastic syringes called dose syringes. And so I started painting with those to see what that would be like. And then it evolved up to where I just got a container and started pouring paint. So I think the series ended up calling it more of, um, aftermath feeling like, okay, um, we've been through it, we're still there, but I feel like we're on the outside of it. And I think the pieces are, uh, I think they have kind of a positive look to them because there's a lot of color. And I, um, you know, there's just a lot of involvement and I think people will be able to spend some time, uh, looking through these works. You mentioned that you had retired from Colby college, so you're kind of in this next phase. I know that, uh, one of the things you've been doing is helping your daughter with her, uh, reconstruction of her apartment. It sounds like. And, uh, what else is going on? You mentioned your son. What about your daughter what's going on with your daughter? Well, she lives in Portland too, which is great. And yes, she is moving into a new apartment apartment, which in Portland is finding, we're finding out is not an easy thing to, uh, find apartments. So we got one and we're down here, my wife and I, and we're helping her paint and get ready to move in. But she, um, was very creative person. She also, um, is a wine rep. So she sells wine for easterly wine company out of, actually out of Belfast. She, um, and she has her own company called juice, caboose wine, which you order your wine, uh, early in the week. And she delivers, delivers it to your house on Friday. So, um, she keeps really busy with that. And, uh, she's been in Portland a number of years now. She loves it here. So, so that sounds like there was an opportunity that maybe presented itself with regard to the pandemic, this juice caboose idea. And, you know, she just kind of was there at the right place at the right time. Well, you know, I think what happened was, uh, so, you know, Lucy or friends, you know, Oh, you sell wine, can you get me some wine? He was like, well, no, I can't because I'm licensed, uh, you know, not for private sales. So then she enough people asked her where she looked into it and thought, okay, so she had to go through a process of getting another license and so on to do so. So, you know, it's, it's fun. Um, she, uh, she sells some very nice wine And you have plans of your own in retirement, you, in addition to helping, uh, Lucy Suttle in you plan to do some travel, I hear, Well, you know, like everybody else when COVID hit all those plans, went out the window. So now, uh, we're trying to organize a few trips a week. We actually, since we're both vaccinated, we, uh, were able to get down to Florida, um, in April. And so, yeah, we're going to plan some trips, uh, nothing too extravagant, but, uh, there's, you know, when you retire, you say, you're gonna do this, you're gonna do that. And I think it's, uh, at some point you, you actually prioritize and say, where do you want to go first? And second and third. So that's where we're doing that. And, um, also, um, last year I bought some golf club, used golf clubs online. So I thought I'd give that a whirl. And it's actually quite funny. Uh, I'm really no good, but I, um, I play with this guy who pretty good and he's very patient. So, uh, we'll see, we'll get out a couple more times this year and see what that's like. So kind of continuing on your lifelong theme of always being willing to try something new and different and keeping yourself kind of interested and, uh, um, just enjoying things And getting outside. I love to be outside too. So we'll see what happens. I, I can't imagine ever hitting the pro circuit, but, um, it's just a nice way to spend an afternoon. Absolutely. If you're, if you're with people that, um, don't keep score too close, right. You have to set your expectations. That's right. Well, it's do I really enjoyed my conversation with you today? I've been speaking with artists Stu Henderson and, um, I encourage people to, uh, go see your show in June at the Portland art gallery and, uh, take some time on the Portland art gallery website to learn more about you and your work. It's really been a pleasure to have this conversation with you today. Well, thank you. It was great talking with you.