'All You Need Is Here' posthumous exhibit shows Oakham artist Cale Griffith made his mark

Cale Griffith was a quiet, unassuming sort of person and for the past five years had some serious health problems. And yet it seemed that everybody knew him, his mother said.

"He just knew people all over the country," Elaine Griffith recalled about her son. "You could be anywhere and someone would say, 'Is that you, Cale?' It was just incredible."

Cale Griffith grew up in Oakham and made friends with various people involved with the art and music scene in Worcester, attending lots of concerts when he was healthy. He moved around a bit, living in Costa Rica for a while teaching English as a second language, and then for several years in San Francisco, where he worked in security at the famous Zeitgeist bar. After moving back to Oakham he worked in real estate.

But Cale Griffith was also making a name for himself and getting known as an artist in his own right. He had his first solo exhibition, "All You Need Is Here," planned for this month at the Worcester PopUp at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St.

Griffith died suddenly Sept. 17 at the age of 42. However, Elaine Griffith and Hank von Hellion, managing director of the Worcester PopUp, agreed that the exhibition should go ahead.

"All You Need is Here | A Posthumous Exhibit by Cale Griffith" is scheduled to be at the Worcester PopUp Oct. 12-25.

Doors will open for an opening reception at 4 p.m. Oct. 12. Typically for Cale Griffith, a lot of people who knew him are expected to attend.

"For a moment I thought we'd have to cancel it. I didn't want to," von Hellion said of the exhibition after learning about Cale's death. "He was really involved with the local music and arts scene. I knew he had a bunch of friends who cared about him. We  thought about a posthumous exhibit."

Von Hellion spoke with Elaine Griffith. "Hank said, 'We'd like to still have the show if that's OK with you.' I said, 'Yeah, that's what I wanted to do,'" Elaine Griffith said.

She had posted an announcement about her son's death on his Facebook page. Friends immediately responded with many stories of his acts of kindness.

"Five hundred and thirty people commented, reacted, and they all had stories. 'I went to San Francisco and he found me a couch to sleep on.' 'He would check up on me.' He was just known by so many people," she said.

Gathering at Ralph's Rock Diner

At 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at Ralph's Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., friends will also gather for Cale Griffith and share thoughts and memories, with several musical acts performing during the evening. "It's the closest thing to a service," Elaine Griffith said.

Scheduled performers Oct. 24 include Chuck and Mud, Bridget Nault, Gut Health, Not Bad Not Well, and Silent Drive.

"He deserves attention for the things he did," Elaine Griffith said of her son.

Cale Griffith's work includes abstract art with bright colors and patterns on canvass and paper, von Hellion said. He worked  with oils pastels and paint and also digitally.

Some of his canvass paintings are large. "We had been working on this (exhibition) two months give or take with Cale. He had some health issues. His mother had been helping," von Hellion said.

Cale Griffith was living back in the family home in Oakham. Five years ago he developed a bad allergy to mold. Then two years ago he suffered a stroke.

"That was a real shock," Elaine Griffith said of the stroke. Cale Griffith also suffered seizures.

"He was a long time convalescing," Elaine Griffith said.

"In spring he finally seemed to have enough energy." He was showing his art at different events and felt well enough to start socializing with the music scene again in Worcester, she said.

"He was just getting back on his feet. It takes a lot to come back, especially when you keep getting knocked down. He just was not doing well health-wise. He kept fighting to get over that. Life is just what it is, you don't know," she said.

In his quiet manner, Cale Griffith lived his life his way. He attended Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer but obtained his GED on his own.

Zeitgeist has a reputation in San Francisco for asking patrons to leave for various infractions. But with Cale Griffith there, "He was a really gentle guy. Not like your typical power trip bouncer," his mother said.

Meanwhile, "He always had a vision for wanting to do something important," she said.

Cale Griffith had not really shown any leanings as an artist. Elaine Griffith, however, is an artist who has taught painting through her Art Is 4 Every 1 program.

In 2012, Cale was on his own in Oakham during a blizzard while his parents were on vacation. To perhaps pass the time, he created a picture with some of his mother's oil pastels. He sent her a text message with an image of it.

"It was a picture of a little house with the sky filled with all types of colors," Elaine Griffith said. "I told him it was very impressionistic."

Cale Griffith took that as encouragement.  

"He was really working on that stuff 10 hours a day. He just got on a roll. He started painting. He wanted to paint big," Elaine Griffith said. 

The family garage turned into a studio as Cale worked on large canvasses. "Huge paintings," his mother said.

He also "started working on his phone. Thousands of digital works on his phone   and his iPad." 

Elaine's husband and Cale's father, Eddie J. Griffith, died in 2013. The family also includes Cale's brother and sister James and Katie.

Cale Griffith decided to continue to live in Oakham with his mother after his father's death.

The real estate work was not really supporting him, but "he and I would go to shows. He'd sell a piece here and there. Last year had an open studio, invited everybody, and before you know it he sold $3,000 worth of work. I thought, 'Oh, we're onto something,'" Elaine Griffith said.

"He put works on an Instagram account. Every two or three weeks, he would sell one."

The pending Worcester PopUp show "was a big event. At last he was going to be doing a solo show," Elaine Griffith said.

The Worcester PopUp on its website says, "Cale Griffith had several health challenges the last 5 years that kept him from being out much with his many friends in the art and music scene. Planning this exhibit he was looking forward to connecting with many old friends and showing his abstract art that many admired and bought online.

"But Cale’s sudden passing in September has changed the show to a retrospective of his life as an artist and a chance for the community to come together and celebrate the man that so many loved for his kindness and compassion, as well as his incredible talent."

Cale Griffith's sudden death "was very, very unexpected, but not totally," given his health experiences, Elaine Griffith said.

"I was glad they said they were going ahead with the show."

Cale had made a list of the work he wanted to feature at the exhibit, but "we're adding some of his earlier work" to make it a retrospective," Elaine Griffith said. She's also put together a book, copies of which will be on sale at the exhibition, detailing her son's evolution as an artist, including that first text he sent with the picture of a house and the multi-colored sky.

For those interested in seeing Cale's entire collection, Elaine Griffith said she would be taking requests at the opening reception for studio tours.

"He was vey unassuming. He didn't go to college. He didn't have a big impressive job. The value of a life is not how much money you have, what kind of job you have. He made a mark, he really did," she said.

'All You Need is Here | A Posthumous Exhibit by Cale Griffith'

When: Oct. 12-25. Opening reception, doors open 4 p.m. Oct. 12.

Where: Worcester PopUp at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St., Worcester

How much: Free admission.

More info: jmacworcester.org

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Posthumous exhibit for Oakham artist Cale Griffith at Worcester PopUp