Artist and author Robert Kroeger's love of old barns has turned out three books, numerous paintings, and now a nearly month-long exhibit of his works at Ethos Art Collective in Mt. Healthy.
Barns Unlimited: Ohio's Heritage will feature 40 to 50 oil paintings of all kinds of barns — wooden, stone, circular, and more — paired with an essay detailing the history or significance of each structure.
"It's an art show designed to bring awareness to the value of the old barn," Kroeger tells WVXU. "In the suburbs and in cities, people don't really understand the value of the old barn, but back 100 (or) 200 years ago, they were the money makers. If you didn't have a barn, you didn't survive; you had to store your crops, your livestock, and sometimes even your families."
Kroeger says many barns have been torn down for housing and other developments, or are no longer as useful as they used to be.
"They're too small for the huge equipment of today, and unless there's an emotional attachment, they eventually fall apart. So awareness is a big part of the show."
The barn at Bahr Farm
A local barn is at the heart of the Barns Unlimited exhibit: the barn at Bahr Farm in Finneytown. The property straddles the Cincinnati city limits line, with the barn on the Cincinnati side. Built in 1809, it's believed to be the oldest barn still standing in the city limits.
Bahr Farm Facilities Manager Nick Hartley says a dendrochronology — the process of tree ring dating — study completed by the College of Wooster Tree Ring Lab in Wooster, Ohio found the oldest tree used to build the barn in 1809 started growing hundreds of years earlier in 1629.
A dentist by trade, Kroeger uses his art to bring awareness to barns and their history. He's made paintings of at least one barn in all 88 Ohio counties and others across the country. He often auctions his pieces off with the proceeds benefiting barn preservation, 4-H groups, historical societies, or other non-profits. Funds from the Ethos Art Collective show will benefit Bahr Farm, which is maintained by Cardinal Land Conservancy.
Kroeger uses a painting technique called impasto, which involves the thick application of paint to the canvas and was popular with Renaissance painters, and post-Impressionist Vincent Van Gogh.
"They painted very thickly. Sometimes the paint is so thick it just bounces off the canvas. I paint with a palette knife, only (using) a brush if I need to record very fine detail. The painting has little ridges and valleys and nooks, and if it's positioned in a house next to natural light, as the sun changes position over a period of a day, it reflects differently off the painting, and so it's almost getting three paintings for one that almost changes colors. It's really interesting," he says.
Beyond the paintings and accompanying essays of the barns depicted, each painting is framed by Kroeger himself using a clever wood source.
"They're framed in wood from barns, old barn siding," Kroeger explains. "Sometimes it's from the barn that I painted, not often, but sometimes. It depends on how much wood that farmer gave me."
While Kroeger says he enjoys the paintings and finds old barns architecturally fascinating, there's something else that truly captures his interest.
"There are many artists who love to paint old barns — they make good compositions — but for me, the most important part of the barn is its story," he says. "If you drive out into the countryside, you'll see tons of barns tilted and missing siding, and roofs sagging, and (falling apart). As they fade away, so do their stories.
"The stories are important to me."
The exhibit
Barns Unlimited: Ohio's Heritage
June 5-20
Show opening reception: June 5 from 6-8 p.m.
Artist talk with Robert Kroeger: June 20 from 1-3 p.m.
Ethos Art Collective
7507 Hamilton Ave.
Mt. Healthy, Ohio 45231
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