Sherry Errera

by MOLLY WOULFE
June 2 ,2001

Fred Sichhart takes art personally.

Very personally.

When he feels like painting, he paints. When he doesn't, his easel stands idle. Not one to force the Muse, the award-winning Hammond artist -- who earned a reputation for his landscapes in his '70s heyday -- shelved his palette in the '80s and '90s.

"It goes in cycles," he shrugged. "Then I go crazy again."

The dry spell is over. The German-born painter, 68, has been back to work with a vengeance since last fall, as evidenced by dozens of canvasses propped against the walls of his basement studio. Like before, his works are often dark, heavily symbolic scenes, a reflection of his ties to the Expressionist movement in post-war Germany. Only his new focus is self-identity, as an immigrant and as an artist.

The subject matter is "instinctive," said Sichhart, pausing before an oversized portrait of a child with paintbrushes for hair. "I don't think to myself, 'This has to be left or right.' I just do it."

This last burst of creativity has yielded two series of paintings that Sichhart plans to unveil in one-man shows in upcoming months (details are still in the works). His "alien series" features ghostly little figures in street scenes in Paris, Venice and other major European cities.

The big-eyed mutants, who gaze steadily from windows, seem both at home and at odds in their environment, suggesting the duality experienced by immigrants in foreign lands. They've assimilated, but they remain outsiders.

Then there's the "candy cane" series, featuring fairy-tale scenes tinged with Brothers Grimm menace (the original stories are gory stuff). One painting depicts Bavarian cottages flanking a gaudy abstract gingerbread house melting at its red and yellow seams (Sichhart squeezed tubes of oil paint directly onto the canvas so the house beams are thick as real candy canes). The prospect of a happy-ever-after seems remote in this eerie candyland. Sichhart signed his name in foot-high letters over many of these new works and composed short poems as companion pieces.

The semi-retired artist is not one to expound on context and meaning. He prefers to let his subconscious do the talking and just go with the flow. He also eschews links to established schools and art movements.

"I'm a fan of nobody. Even the most talented artists just smear paint on canvas. I admire people who do something I can't do, like music," he said.

Sichhart trained in Augsbury Germany, immigrating with his wife, Helene, to America in 1959. He first made a living silk-screening rock T-shirts, later opening the Art Factory in Hammond. One highly visible commission was his wall mural for Hegewisch Records in Calumet City.

Within a few years, the self-employed artist-designer won a following for his moody landscapes of Chicago and Indiana scenes, receiving the Northern Indiana Art Salon Award in 1968 and 1969. His lighter, commercial scenes were especially popular and celebrity clients included Muhammad Ali, Jane Byrne and Walter Payton. The Hammond resident was represented by four galleries at one point.

That's about the time that Sichhart, by now a father of three, hung up his brushes to crank out wall plaques at the Art Factory. The inspiration was gone. So was the pleasure. Painting in his studio "was just like work," he said. "You come to a certain end and it just stops."

Now it's back, though, and the big question is whether dealers will agree whether the new oils are worth the two-decade wait. Sichhart is unworried; in fact, he has priced his aliens and candy cottages at $5,000 each to discourage less-than-serious buyers. If they don't sell, the white-haired maverick vows, he'll just hang on to everything. "I'm more interested in getting a reaction," he said.

GERRIE BROWN --Whiting, IN
Jul 29, 2001

Here I was at Borders Books and Cafe in Highland enjoying a cafe latte and a cranberry scone when I noticed artist Fred Sichhart's paintings hanging on the wall.

The first thing I observe is his signature painted in oversized letters across the canvas ruining the true asceticness of his paintings. I am puzzled, take a bite of my scone and ask myself why.

Fred Sichhart recently had a write-up in The Times telling readers that he picked up his brush after decades of an art draught. He has had top art awards, shown in four Chicago galleries and even had celebrities as clientele. Now this?

I recall reading somewhere, ask about his signature and his answer is this, "All along I was searching for something -- I found it. But let me state, I am not a canvas actor. What you see is me without makeup. I paint like I must and if I am called an ego-paintiac, I tell you, no matter how I rate on your score card, all I want to be is an honest painter."

This may sound sophisticated, but it does not qualify for an answer to me. I hear the word unique mentioned several times from other art critiques. Unique? Baloney. His paintings are definitely ruined by his outsized signature.

by FRED SICHHART --Hammond, IN
Dec 3, 2001

In rebuttal to an opinion you printed by Robert Foster, who criticized my extra-large signature being attached to a rainbow on my painting, Artist Puzzle, which he saw at the Northern Indiana Art Association in Munster.

"Don't interfere with Mother Nature," he said.

Here is the true rainbow story:

If Benny Hinn, the TV preacher, can talk to God, so can I. I did. God said, "To advertise on my rainbow as payment, you have to work for two weeks up here in heaven in the arts department cleaning brushes."

I went. I met Andy Warhol and Picasso.

"You paint your signature way too large," they both agreed.

"Who are they," I thought, criticizing a new idea since one of them painted soup cans and the other heads with two faces. I decided to teach them a lesson. I went to work, and at the angels art show, I displayed a dozen of my paintings.

When one little angel asked me, "Why is your name painted so much larger than that of Picasso and Andy?" I had my answer handy: "On Earth, the larger the signature, the more famous the artist."

In no time, all my paintings were sold. I got even, and put Warhol's and Picasso's career in heaven on hold. Not a one of their paintings were sold.

One month later...

I had to tell God I made another rainbow painting.

"Uh-oh," he said. "This time you painted your name above the rainbow. This will cost your four weeks of work up here."

So if you want to buy a painting and you are looking for me, you know where I am.

Fred Sichhart says every painting tells a story

by ROB EARNSHAW
Times Correspondent
Jan 09, 2009

Paul Henry's Gallery in downtown Hammond is featuring longtime local artist Fred Sichhart in its initial dedicated installation beginning today.

The exhibit includes pieces by the Hammond artist never before displayed in a gallery setting.

Sichhart, who immigrated to the United States along with his wife from Germany in the 1950s, said he's not eager to sell his work -- he'd rather have it discovered.

Still, he's enthusiastic to help David and Rita Mueller, proprietors of Paul Henry's Gallery.

"They are good people," Sichhart said.

Sichhart is known for the bold and impressionistic style of his oil and acrylic paintings as well as integrating within the work his hallmark oversized signature -- sometimes stretching the letters of his name through the entire piece.

"There are 5 million artists in the world, and I'm the only one who puts his name in the painting," Sichhart said.

"All my paintings in the last 20 years have my name on it. I'm crazy -- not stupid. I believe in it."

Every painting in the exhibit tells a story, Sichhart said.

"The Tree Murderer" was inspired by a tree that had to be cut down in Sichhart's yard. Another, "Square Cats," was motivated by several cats owned by Sichhart's daughter.

There are several cat-inspired themes in the exhibit pieces, as well as dogs, celebrities and locals in Sichhart's native Germany.

"The hardest thing for an artist is to discover his own style," Sichhart said.

"For me one style is not enough."

David Mueller finds the paintings of Sichhart to have wide appeal among everyone from children to seasoned artists.

"Kids love it because they are attracted by the color and vibrant style," Mueller said.

"And during our grand opening (which featured several displayed works by Sichhart) it gained a lot of attention from other artists. There's a lot of great art here -- his just drew the most attention."

Sichhart isn't surprised to find that children are drawn to his work

"If they see (in a painting) a person flying on a pig, they like it," he said.

Some of Sichart's early clientele included Muhammad Ali, late Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton and former Mayor Jane Byrne.

The focal piece of Paul Henry's exhibit, "half black & half white," which draws new inspiration from the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, is one Sichhart believes a celebrity like Oprah Winfrey would find interesting.

Sichhart considers his work "investment paintings" and said "when he's gone," his son will curate and take care of the collection.