Island Treasures: Barger Gallery

Fine artist Jeff Barger essentially hadn’t picked up a paintbrush while he operated his 25-year-old interpretation and translation company in Vancouver, Washington. Jeff began his art career in high school; however, after being rejected from the Parsons School of Design, he chose a business career instead. Now Jeff resides in West Hawai‘i and is again creating profound works of art under the recurring tutelage of Edwin Kayton, a nationally-recognized master. Jeff boasts, “Honu with Friends is likely to be my favorite work for quite some time. The visual dance of layered abalone shell coupled with the beauty of Hawai‘i’s oceans is a niche that I can explore. Lord knows I’ve waited a long time to fully realize my passion, but now living in Hawai‘i, well, for me, something truly magical happens. I literally wake up some mornings and have to pinch myself. The wealth of opportunities to be inspired by keeps me giddy on a daily basis. Once I find myself in studio, it’s hard to even pause for lunch breaks.”

Beyond his own art, what makes Jeff’s story special is his desire to help other artists succeed. Jeff created an art gallery website that is truly inspiring. You will find a resource rich with diverse artists. Jeff says, “I don’t charge the artists to join our growing family at bargergallery.com, so their risk is absolutely zero and the commission of only 3% of the sale is a mere token to the six-figure cost of running the site. I’m not sure how long I can keep doing this, but when we have more than 250 artists, I’ll know if the business model is sound or not.”

In regards to Jeff’s gallery concept, Ed Kayton, one of Ke Ola Magazine’s previous cover artists says, “We’ve been contacted frequently over the years by art representatives large and small from all over the world. Most involve investing not only your art products but also money. In this respect, Jeff’s approach is the unique exception.”

You can also find Jeff painting live at various locations. His painting Pololu Point is on display at the Na‘ālehu Credit Union and Honu at Rest, which just sold as an original oil, was inspired by the resting honu (green sea turtle) at Punalu‘u Black Sand Beach. The Kapoho Bay tide pools, sadly now lost, inspired the abstract oil painting called Birth of Coral.

Jeff is an avid diver and often explores the surrounding coastlines on Hawai‘i Island to inspire his next painting. “I have so many paintings to do, I’m not sure how to find the time to complete everything. The wealth of material is just so huge here in Hawai‘i.”

One of the advantages of Jeff’s studio is his recent purchase of a large-scale giclée printer, allowing him the ability to control and master the print output for gallery displays. Jeff reflects, “It’s not everyone that can afford original works of art, so the option to be able to offer giclée prints to my customers is a huge plus, for myself as well as the artists that are a part of my gallery. In addition to managing and controlling the output, I offer complete framing in koa.”

Jeff ships pieces all over the world. Soon he expects that fulfilling all the requests from the website will become a full-time job.

Jeff concludes by sharing, “The most fundamental quote that drives all of my decisions in life, love, and pursuit of meaning is from Leonardo Da Vinci: ‘What makes a thing noble is its eternity.’”

For more information: bargergallery.com