The March 28 reception to launch a Greenfield exhibit showcasing the work of Peter Ruhf will be no ordinary event, because Peter Ruhf is no ordinary fellow. The exhibit promises to shift perspectives about art, discipline and brilliance. Those in attendance will meet the man listed in the Guinness Book of World Records multiple times as Boomerang World Champion; if you’ve never met anyone who’s been featured on the cover of Life magazine, dear readers, here’s your chance.

Friday’s reception from 5 to 9 p.m. at the TEOLOS gallery kicks off the exhibit that runs through April 26; gallery hours are 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The gallery’s unusual name represents the phrase “The Effect of Light On Silver” – the basis of photography. Co-proprietors Paul Teeling and Anja Schutz also use the space as a photography studio. “We’ve been here for two years,” said Teeling. “Peter’s exhibit will be our first show of paintings and drawings.”

Teeling curated Ruhf’s show with Greenfield-based artist Kevin Redman to present “The Visionary, Surrealistic, and Psychedelic Art of Peter Ruhf” at 3 ½ Osgood St. Members of the public are invited to view six decades worth of Ruhf’s multi-faceted art; that alone is worth the trip. Yet there’s so much more to Ruhf’s story.

At the reception, while shaking Ruhf’s right hand, take note of his left one: that’s the appendage he used to pitch a perfect baseball game at age 21, a victory he achieved through ceaseless dedication, which started young when he took up weightlifting in the fourth grade, using space in his family’s chicken coop.

Ruhf never used his brawn to terrorize peers. Quite the opposite: he was well-liked by nearly all of his school chums – with the exception of an infamous sixth-grader who Ruhf stopped in his tracks while coming to the aid of a would-be victim. The story of how Ruhf survived despite threats from the foiled bully, who had several hefty brothers to boot, will be revealed in our next installment (this is part one of a two-part series about Ruhf). Astonishing vignettes from Ruhf’s storied life could fill a substantial book. This week, we focus on Ruhf’s artwork.

Now in his late 70s, Ruhf says, “I’ve painted every day since age 19 – and I mean every single day. But I started creating art as a child.” While living in their “teeny tiny” Pennsylvania Dutch hometown of Limeport, Ruhf’s family took advantage of classes offered in nearby Allentown at the Baum School of Art, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year. “Starting when I was 9, my mother would take me to a bus stop and I’d board the bus alone and ride to Allentown. My whole family loved painting. I was pretty good at it, so I was encouraged to keep it up.”

Ruhf and his twin brother, Larry – along with their sister, another brother, and parents – were exposed early and often to Australian aboriginal art collected by Ed Ruhe, brother of Peter Ruhf’s mother. No, that’s not a spelling error: Peter Ruhf’s mother was born into the Ruhe family, which meant that – starting in first grade – she was seated next to a fellow named Ruhf, whom she later married. The Ruhe-Ruhf family was filled with extraordinarily capable people known for creative instincts. Uncle Ed amassed the largest collection of eucalyptus bark paintings outside of Australia.

Nearly identical Germanic surnames leading to matrimony is not the only coincidence in their family lore: seven months before birthing her twin sons, Peter and Larry, one of Mrs. Ruhf’s many siblings welcomed twin boys, and the two sets of twins grew up together, mentored and encouraged by brilliant relatives. “Uncle Ed would say, ‘C’mon kids, let’s go to New York!’ and pack a bunch of us into his car,” said Ruhf. “He’d drive us (90 miles) to the East Village and we’d catch three art films in a row: matinee, early show, and late show.” Uncle Ed also brought the youngsters to museums and other cultural destinations. “We had a lot of exposure,” said Ruhf, who won a poster contest in second grade and in 1969 graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA.

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Ruhf moved to San Francisco during the height of the counterculture movement. He later put down roots in Franklin County, living for many years in Shelburne Falls. “I think of my work as sacred art,” said Ruhf. “It’s timeless and manifests something bigger than the self. My art represents the joy of transcendence.” While Ruhf is reasonably humble about his talents, he doesn’t pull any punches: “I easily out-produced Van Gogh,” he said, referencing another artist with Dutch roots. “He painted 872 works. I’ve done way more than that.”

Commenting on his prolific nature, Ruhf said, “I never lost my discipline, which was pretty intimidating to other painters. But it’s just what I do.” In his 20s, he was accepted into a program at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, a famous art school in Deer Isle, Maine, that was nearly impossible to get into. There, he explored sculpting. He also made his mark during a residency at Arcosanti, a central Arizona project piloting a concept known as arcology, as proposed in 1970 by the Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing destructive impacts on our planet.

Exhibit co-curator Kevin Redman thought TEOLOS would be “the perfect place to show Peter’s work, which is magical.” Redman and Teeling looked at hundreds of works and will exhibit “several dozen oil paintings, prints, drawings, and ceramic pieces in an attempt to showcase different aspects of Peter’s personal and artistic development.” Redman added that, while at the University of Michigan, “Peter was considered a savant, and not really required to take classes. They just let him paint. He was that good. Some of Peter’s work is very complicated, some very simple. There’s lots of color, lots of imagined life, animals, and plants.”

“Peter’s work is pretty fantastical, surreal on many levels and full of symbols,” Teeling added. “It contains tons of information; there’s layered levels of symbolism throughout his work. There’s just so much visual construction. We’re very excited about presenting the work of an astounding artist.”

Eveline MacDougall is the author of “Fiery Hope” and a musician, artist, and mom. To contact: eveline@amandlachorus.org.