So much hype surrounds art openings these days that truly momentous exhibitions can be unfairly bunched with far less stellar shows. Let’s hope this fate does not befall the Berkeley Art Museum’s newly opened, “What’s It All Mean: William T. Wiley In Retrospect.” I was not very familiar with Wiley prior to this week’s opening, but now think it fair to describe him as the West Coast version of the late Robert Rauschenberg. Not in terms of innovation, but in terms of style, though Wiley is far more political and much less abstract. This is a show for those who appreciate art on a purely aesthetic level, as well as for those who enjoy seeing the artistic trajectory of a brilliant artist over the span of nearly forty years.

For the second time in the past two years, the Berkeley Art Museum (BAM) has produced a breathtaking show that should attract art-lovers from throughout the Bay Area. As with the 2008, The Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, BAM had used its physical space to greatly benefit a tremendous and varied collection.

This first-ever career retrospective of William T. Wiley offers an astonishing display of works. Many are political, such as those from the 1980’s critical of U.S. military aid to El Salvador, a powerful 1999 painting showing a soldier with a hook in place of his hand returning home from war to his farm, and what I would bet is the first great work of art that explicitly urges consumers not to buy farmed salmon.

Wiley’s works are often assemblages that include, as in the beautiful painting of a wild salmon in an ocean setting, written comments. Wiley is particularly concerned over the impact of nuclear radiation, a focus that the program notes indicate emerged from his spending his high school years in Richland, Washington. This town houses workers at the nearby Hanford Site, which processes plutonium for nuclear weapons (Wylie’s father poured cement).

But this is not a primarily “political” art exhibition. Rather, Wylie is a great artist who produces art that expresses many of his core beliefs.

While the show provocatively asks, “What’s It All Mean,” the answer will be obvious to those attending the show. The retrospective means that William Wiley is a far more significant talent than most recognize, and that his home base in Marin County likely deprived him of the national publicity awarded New York City-based artists of far less talent (though his works are well-represented in museums and the Smithsonian organized the show).

The retrospective also means that Bay Area residents have a rare opportunity to visit a truly inspiring, thought-provoking and visually stunning exhibition from one of the world’s greatest artists. The show plays until July 18, and should not be missed.

For more information, see http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibition/wiley_2010

Randy Shaw is Editor of Beyond Chron.