Richard Carter arrived in the Roaring Fork Valley in 1971 from New Jersey after graduating from Villanova University in 1969. Carter did not study at an Art School but grew up in a culturally aware household and he is a self-taught painter. He spent from 1972 thru 1978 working as the studio assistant to former Bauhaus master Herbert Bayer in Bayer’s Red Mountain studio. This included projects in Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Tapestry design, Exhibition design, and Environmental works as well as Architectural projects.
At the same time he worked a steady schedule on his own paintings in his studio in the west end of Aspen.
In 1976 Carter, along with two other Aspen Artists, conceived of and spearheaded the movement to convert the old Holy Cross Power House into the Aspen Center for Visual Arts. The name later changed to the Aspen Art Museum. Carter served on that board for five years.
During this time Carter had numerous solo and group shows locally and nationally of his own work and of course that continues through today.
While his children were at the Aspen Community school in Woody Creek he served on that Board and was the president of that organization for 2 years. He also served for several years on the Board of the Anderson Ranch Arts Center and was instrumental in starting the ongoing annual Art Auction at the Ranch.
In 1984 Carter began a side gig working in Film Production as a Production Designer on commercial and feature film shoots on locations world wide. As a result of that work he had to open a second studio and base of operations in Los Angeles and worked between LA and Basalt until closing the LA studio in 2018. He now works out of his studio on the Roaring Fork River in Basalt .
He also has served on the board of the ARTBASE in Basalt and most recently has worked with the TACAW board to bring the Arts Campus at Willits, a performing Arts facility to reality to serve the mid valley.
During all this time Carter has maintained a very active exhibition schedule of his work in Painting and Drawing in both commercial galleries as well as Institutional shows nationally and internationally. Carter’s work is in all the Visual Arts Museum collections in Colorado. Currently, Carter is preparing for exhibitions of new work at the ARTBASE in Basalt CO., the Hexton Gallery in Aspen and a show at William Havu Gallery in Denver.
Carter has remained committed to working overtime as an artist as well as working to make his community a better place to live thru the arts. In 2022 Carter was awarded the John Madden lifetime achievement award for a “legacy of outstanding work in promoting the Arts in the Roaring Fork Valley”. Carter lives and maintains his studio in Basalt CO.
