Hal Poth's 'Wonderful World' Comes to Chesterfield Arts

Although he's been an artist for decades, Hal Poth still isn't a recognized name.

He sketches, paints, sculpts and builds small mobile machines as a hobby, yet each medium he works in he tries to master. 

Many, himself included, simply call his work "whimsical." Around 30 of his pieces went on exhibit at Friday and are on display until Sept. 3.

"We thought it was something fresh to bring," said Jennifer Petrowsky, marketing and communications manager with Chesterfield Arts. "It's colorful and fun."

One of Poth's pieces is a 3-D, salmon-colored flower with teal trim. Another is a canvas cutout of man in a rocker; his eyes are on the sun, Poth said in a video where he talks about some of his work. (See the video at right.) Both of those are on display at exhibit.

"You don't even know where to look, because every detail is so different," Petrowsky added.

The Warson Woods resident has created art for more than 80 years of his life, according to a profile in the Suburban Journals.

Poth's late wife, Vi Koenig, also made art; the pair worked together from their basement. After she died in 2005, Poth had the pair's works catalogued, according to a South County Times story. The tally: 1,200 pieces.

He said in the story that many of his ideas come from dreams.

"Then you remember the dream, you start on it, you build it, then you keep thinking, 'How could I change this?' " he said. "It's a constant thing that keeps going on in your mind, and it never lets you rest."

The exhibit in Chesterfield samples a range of this work, Petrowsky said. "We just wanted to show a flavor of his many different mediums and talents."