ARTifact: Assemblage by Tim Barton

• Friday, May 9, 2025 through Sunday, June 8, 2025
• Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach, DE
• 302-227-8408

“I am compelled. I can’t stop whatever this creative force is within me. I am constantly amazed about the amount of objects we humans have created over time, just untold millions and millions of objects, and some of them have found new purpose within my art work. I am fixated with finding the new perfect artifact or object to use within my art and spend many happy hours treasure hunting. When I create a piece I first start by assembling a few objects from my hoard which in my mind intuitively relate to each other, in either form, color, or function. I add or subtract items along the way till I complete the composition. I then build a housing to reflect the composition. As I assemble them, an idea begins, fuzzy at first, but over time solidifies in my mind. This idea is used to create the title of the piece. I try and keep the titles more general to be used as the jumping off point for the viewer to inject their own thoughts and experiences into the work. This allows for their own interpretations, and many times new interpretations. Although I may not have intended a viewers idea about the piece the viewers thoughts are indeed relevant and have as much merit as my original idea that created the piece. I am influenced by my own experiences and thoughts but as I have found most thoughts have been thought by others and in this way I think my artwork has a universality to it.” –Tim Barton

Tim Barton, formally of Philadelphia, has been living in Lewes, DE since October 2021. He received his AA in Fine Arts from the State University of New York in 1998 while enrolled in the Enlisted Educational Advancement Program when he was enlisted in the US Navy Submarine Force from 1981 to 2001. After retiring from the Navy he obtained his Senior Reactor Operators License from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and has since worked at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant in Southern New Jersey and recently retired from Constellation Energy as a Lead Emergency Preparedness Specialist. Tim has been making and showing art since 1996 and has settled on 3D construction and found object sculpture as his current art form. He has shown in juried shows along the east coast and has work in several large collections as well as many private collections. His most recent awards are The Sarah Ethel Tunnell Best in Show at the Rehoboth Art League 85th Annual Members Show in 2023 as well as the 2024 11th Regional Juried Biennial Exhibition Jurors Award of Excellence also at the Rehoboth Art League. One of his inspirations, discovered during his college time, is the assemblage artist Joseph Cornell. Unlike Cornell though Tim constructs all of the boxes, cabinets, and frames himself. Frequently his process includes a finished treatment that reflects a presence of age that provides an immediate sense of history and nostalgia to the piece. Within these cases he arranges a composition of artifacts and found objects that reflect a relationship to each other and to a common theme. Tim spends many days scouring antique shops, antique malls, as well as auction houses locally and across the country for unique items that speak to him or as he says items “I know I can use”. His work finds him reaching back in time, and exploring aspects of his life in unique ways, searching for themes in his human experience that all can relate to.

Tim Barton maintains a membership with the Rehoboth Art League as well as the Internationally recognized Philadelphia Dumpster Divers artist organization.

Exhibitions Galleries Free Visual Arts Southern Delaware

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