bio

Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Ricky Bearghost is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes—the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. In 1970, Ricky moved to Salem, Oregon, and in 1988 he relocated to Portland, where he developed his creative practice at different progressive studio programs including Port City, Project Grow, Art From the Heart, Public Annex, and PALS. Over the years, Ricky has become notorious for making vibrant, expressive weavings full of rainbow pony beads and found and scrounged materials. Working on the loom, Ricky commands the cohesive power of warp and weft, drawing color, texture, juxtaposition, language, and chance encounters together creating unique gravitational fields. Recently, Ricky has been expanding his textile practice by hand stitching woven panels into colossal garments, and hand-carving wooden furniture with woven chair seats. An active drawer as well, Ricky’s 2D artworks evolve alongside his weavings, often featuring language that proceeds from left to right like skeins of meaning. It’s no surprise that Ricky likes to do word search puzzles in between weavings. Ricky is also an enthusiastic participant during weekly summer outings to Elbow Room’s community garden in the Cully neighborhood, often being the first to get down in the dirt, pulling weeds and planting. His excitement for garden projects can spill over into his work back at the studio with names of seasonal produce frequently cropping up in his characteristically text-heavy drawings. Ricky is also a prolific and exuberant maker of collages, often gravitating towards images of food, and particularly produce, each page a veritable feast.