Most of us would like to forget the year 2020. But local artist George Fielder says it’s important to remember even the worst of times. That’s why one of the paintings in Through the Eyes of George Fielder, Artist and Chef, up through March 28 at West Las Vegas Library, depicts a crowd at a protest for George Floyd. Some of them are holding up signs, including one with the distressing “I can’t breathe” quote.
“I went to some of the protest marches in town. I heard the sounds, and I realized the pressures of hate and people that don’t want to achieve a goal that you want to achieve and that is freedom and treating people like they should be treated,” Fielder says. “As an artist, we have to always be on call for what’s going on now.”
That piece, along with others the 68-year-old Fielder has created throughout his life, have been collected in his first-ever exhibit. It covers a wide range of themes with one common thread: They’re all important to the artist.
“My Lady” by George Fielder
Through the Eyes touches on Egyptian history, depicting women playing musical instruments and men on chariots amid battle. Other paintings reflect nature. One work of red and golden leaves on an autumn day fills the canvas, and another features colorful tulips. Wild horses are also prevalent in his artwork, some in a meadow under a blue sky and others under a red sky, running toward the viewer.
One painting, of a woman in purples hues, is particularly striking. Fielder says it was inspired by an album cover he came across during the 1970s in a record shop in his hometown of Detroit. But he no longer remembers the specific album, and he’s been searching for it for years.
“I took [the painting] to two stores here [Moondog Records and Record City] for them to look it up ,and they told me that they didn’t find it. I know it’s out there!” he insists with a laugh.
Fielder has been painting for more than 55 years. He recalls his mother encouraging and supporting his interest in art, which took him from paper bags and crayons to art lessons around Michigan. Fielder’s father and that side of the family owned restaurants, however, so as a young child he was exposed to cooking.
Fielder moved to Las Vegas in 1981 and has worked as a chef for more than 40 years, including a stint as executive chef at the Jokers Wild Casino. He now works for C&E Catering.
Art and cooking aren’t actually all that dissimilar, Fielder explains. “[Cooking involves] all kinds of different techniques, like art. If you’re broiling a piece of protein, if you’re searing a piece of protein, if you want to make grill marks on a piece of protein, you have to know what technique you want,” he says.
“Painting is techniques, just like food. There’s a dried technique, there are wet techniques. … There are so many different techniques that we use now to achieve [our goal], just like with art.”
Recently, Fielder briefly taught culinary skills to young men at Spring Mountain Youth Camp on Mount Charleston. Though he enjoyed the experience, he says, he found it difficult to split his focus between the camp, his full-time job and his passion for art. That led him to show his work, at long last.
“I’ve been painting and drawing since I was a kid, [but] I never did anything with my work. I might have sold one or two pieces in college, but I just never did anything with it,” Fielder says. “So now at 68 years old, I want to see what I can accomplish.”
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