About the Exhibition

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - acrylic on canvas - 30" x 240" -displayed at the Main Line Art Center from September 11 to October 9th

The 50th Anniversary Exhibition is an outgrowth of  a new book released in May 2020 about George Rothacker’s 50 years in the field of arts and communication. The books and shows at the two Delaware County art centers reveal only a small portion of the projects that the artist and writer has been involved with throughout his career, but provides insight into the diversity of media he has used to express his love of learning and his creativity.

“I hope both the exhibitions and the book can help those not in the creative field, and others just beginning their journey, to see that there is no right way to create art,” says Mr. Rothacker.

“Art is personal and it’s collaborative; it can be just for the enjoyment of the doing, or for

Mal from the Pool Toy Series
- acrylic on canvas - 40" x 30"

selling a product; it can be attractive, edgy, purposeful and/or powerful. In the end, it should mostly be authentic, reflecting something of the artist’s skill, thought processes and disciplines.”

Art on display includes drawings and paintings from Rothacker’s early days, as well as one which got completed in early July, 2020, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a depiction of Fernon Street in South Philadelphia.

“There was no reason for me to create this 6-panel, 20 foot long painting,” said Rothacker. “The inspiration came to me while walking to my car parked on the south side of Fernon Street in late December, and viewing the tastefully ornamented and immaculately maintained row homes. ‘What if...?’ I thought. So I returned a few days later in early afternoon and photographed each house, and then figured how I was going to put them all together and how much room I would need to display such a work.

“No thought was thought into ‘Where will I display this?’ or ‘Who will buy this?’ My only thought was, ‘Wouldn’t this be cool if I could actually paint this painting?’”

“My latest painting series is called Pool Toys and the first painting features a naked 70 year old man floating on an inflatable unicorn in my pool. The idea brought a smile to my face when I asked Mal if he would pose for it. Since then I have another “Pool Toy” partially done and several in the waiting. For me, at this stage of my life, that’s what art is all about.”