While many a great artist has had to suffer for their work, there are plenty of artists who realize that there is suffering in other people that exceeds their own struggle. Grant Barnhart is one such soul. Recently Grant received notice that a close family friend had been diagnosed with advanced small cell cancer. In an effort to ease her pain and the financial strain that comes with treating such a diagnosis, Barnhart decided to use his art to help with the more literal aspects of fighting the disease. To help pay for his friend Pam’s medical treatment, Barnhart is releasing a special edition print of his “In The Beginning” print. The image is available both framed and unframed and includes hand work applied by the artist, insuring the uniqueness of each piece. All proceeds go toward medical treatment and all print purchases are appreciated immeasurably.

As an artist continues to evolve, so must the way said artist represents him or herself. In order to accurately reflect his own evolving work, long time friend of the site and Spear Collective member, Grant Barnhart has given his website the once over, revamping it to display much of his newer work. The new look homepage has a simple design that is easy to navigate allowing web surfing art addicts to a wonderful opportunity to focus on just how much this Seattle bred’s work has grown. If you find yourself gallavanting through Europe and would like to see that evolution in person we recommend checking out Grant’s exhibition at Leslie’s Art Gallery in Luxembourg from May 2nd to May 31st.

Our arty pal (and Spear Collective member) Grant Barnhart has another opening around the bend, this time in his Seattle hometown. “Exact Change,” Grants latest body of work, was built on inspiration from the work of American artist Robert Rauschenberg. The series of paintings, again created in Grant’s classic mediums of oil and graphite, reflects the removal of self, and mocks and acknowledges the sexual perversity inherent in organized violence. While the conceptual drive behind “Exact Change” is easily discernible, the first thing one might notice in the recent paintings is the evolution of Grant’s personal style — bright colors have replaced bits of his muted palate; new shapes and forms have taken some of the room that his familiar animals used to fill; and, above all, his aptitude for story-telling has fully developed into a point of great personal strength. “Exact Change” will run through the first of January, with an opening reception at OKOK this Saturday, November 10th, from 6-10 o’clock.

Spear Collective member and personal favorite Grant Barnhart recently released a short-run print edition of one of his latest paintings, Horse(y) 1964. As part of Grant’s latest set of work (which will be shown at OKOK in early November- we’ll fill you in on all the details soon), Horse(y) 1964 demonstrates his newly-intensified color palate (and what seems like newly-intensified political messages). The print has been released in a series of 65 signed and numbered copies, but I’m struggling to find the print’s dimensions/further information on the printing method/paper used/etc. However, Grant is a terribly friendly guy, so should you care to know the answers to those questions, feel free to drop him an inquiry.

What’s not to like about these new 5-color prints from Grant Barnhart, our friend and fellow Spear Collectiver? The one on the left (grrrrr!) is actually a concert poster for Andrew Bird who, by the way, is one hell of a whistler. The one on the right, ‘Conversation with Asphalt,’ has all of the traditional Barnhart animal imagery, but this time it’s tied into a sea-faring story. If you can read his writing, maybe it will guide you to the sunken treasure. They’re available online at DUI Studio– $75 for ‘Conversation with Asphalt,’ and $20 for the Andrew Bird poster. Hurry up, before Carmel buys them all!

Although I’ve waited until the 3rd of the month to remind you, there are still plenty of days in May to enjoy our current Spear Collective calendar image. Honors for the May image (seen here) went to Seattle-based Grant Barnhart. The images are available in three different resolutions to accommodate all of your screen sizes. Incidentally, Grant has some of his new work currently displayed at the Coping Mechanisms Show in L.A. at the Tinlark Gallery on Sunset Blvd. until May 12th. I’m going to stop by the gallery next Friday when I’m in Tinseltown, so if any of you want to meet up, drop me a note (jamieATjoshspearDOTcom.)

I wanted to give a heads up to all of you Southern Californians that there’s going to be quite the group show going on in Hollywood starting next weekend. ‘Coping Mechanisms’ is a 3-person show at the Tinlark Gallery on Sunset. Starting with the launch party this coming Saturday, April 14th, from 4-7 PM, you’ll get to see the brand new work of SC’s Grant Barnhart, Andrew Au, and Nancy Baker Cahill. I’ve included one of Grant’s new pieces here– what can I say besides “GRRRRRRR!?” If you can’t make the opening reception this weekend, the show will be going on until May 12th. I’m going to do my best to make the tail end of the show when I get out to L.A. in May. Full flyer is after the jump for your reference…

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Looks like Grant Barnhart (A.K.A. Tra Selhtrow) has been steadily and quickly progressing his work– even since his somewhat recent Sincere Intentions show at the OKOK Gallery in Seattle in November (which one of our own, Carmel the Intern, was lucky enough to attend). As a compliment to all of the new artwork, Grant has redone his website and, lucky for us, is now using t-shirts and track jackets as a canvas. His maiden foray into the apparel game certainly doesn’t look rookie to me– there are some great designs in there, and you can order them here, along with some great prints. As a member of the Spear Collective, we wouldn’t expect anything less out of Mr. Barnhart.