EDITOR’S NOTE: “Reclusive Washington artist Charles Swank subject of two-day show in Yachats“ was written by Cheryl Romano for YachatsNews.com, an ArtsWatch Community Partner, and published originally on Feb. 9, 2025. ArtsWatch is republishing the piece with permission.

Is that an image of the cosmos or a peek inside the human soul? Does that riot of color evoke a field of flowers or a psychedelic dream?

A Yachats art appreciator is inviting members of the public to find their own answers at an unusual exhibit from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 15 and 16, in Yachats Commons.

Charles Swank: A Retrospective, 50 Years Exploring Inner Worlds is a one-man art show featuring the works of “abstracted geometric visions, beautiful, accessible and fun,” says Dan Stein of Yachats, a longtime friend of the reclusive Washington artist.

With support from Polly Plumb Productions, the nonprofit that brings cultural events to Yachats, Stein is offering a rare, free showcase of five decades of Swank’s work.

In addition to the art on exhibit and for sale, at Swank’s request everyone who attends the show will be able to leave – literally — with a piece of his art.

“All guests will be able to choose between a small card, a bookmark, or a square foot of certain large paintings that you can cut yourself,” says Stein.

On the local arts calendar, the exhibit replaces what was traditionally an art quilt show this time of year. That long-running show ended when organizer Ruth Bass relocated back to her Midwest home.

Stein has been collecting Swank’s work since the two met in Santa Cruz, Calif., in the late 1970s. On a visit with his friend last year, the artist took Stein into his attic where more than 200 paintings from the past 20 years were stashed.

“I came home with a pickup load of them to try to find them homes,” Stein says.

Swank, who holds a master’s degree in fine arts from Yale, has exhibited widely in the East and California, but never in Oregon. Described by Stein as “a reclusive, spiritual man,” Swank has resisted showing his work in recent years.

“Most of the paintings … are large abstract acrylics, often in geometric patterns that pull the viewer inward,” says Stein. “You don’t have to be a mystic to enjoy or understand them. Even if you are not an art aficionado, they will surprise and please you.”

The unframed works range in size from big enough to dominate a wall to small enough to brighten a nook.

Stein says that after Swank earned his Yale degree, he decided to “commit artistic suicide” and move to small-town Santa Cruz to raise a family. That meant taking a lifetime of day jobs to support his painting. Swank worked as a house painter; a butler for Joan Kroc, heir to the McDonald’s fast food fortune; and as a teacher’s aide for developmentally disabled children.

“What he didn’t do was sell paintings,” says Stein, whose goal is to help his friend and help bring new fans to the artist’s work.