Cover story/interview in Chronogram Magazine July 2017
On the Cover: Julia Whitney Barnes
Some painters sole purpose is place—take the Hudson River School artists—while others use their art to dream up entirely new realities. Julia Whitney Barnes falls squarely in the second category. "There are several places and several experiences in each painting," Whitney Barnes says of her work.
"May Day/Domestic Bliss" featured on the cover of Chronogram Magazine
On the Cover: Julia Whitney Barnes
By Marie Doyon
Some painters sole purpose is place—take the Hudson River School artists—while others use their art to dream up entirely new realities. Julia Whitney Barnes falls squarely in the second category. "There are several places and several experiences in each painting," Whitney Barnes says of her work.
When she was in her early 30s, she was a "travel buddy" to an airline-employed friend. "For two years, at any point, I could just hop on a flight and go anywhere that airline flew. I would be sitting in my studio and think, 'I could be in Barcelona!' and just go."
Travel has always inspired her art, and on these impulse voyages, Whitney Barnes snapped thousands of photographs and made hundreds of sketches. This intense bout of traveling left her with a stockpile of raw material. "Now that I have a little bit of distance, it's like I am reliving the experiences, but by creating something that never existed."
After receiving her MFA from Hunter College in 2006, Whitney Barnes rented studio space in an industrial building in Gowanus. "There were always lots of other people around. I really loved all that camaraderie. It was really easy to get people in and out and see each other's art."
In August 2015, a pregnant Whitney Barnes and her husband left the city. "We realized life wasn't going to work in our tiny Williamsburg apartment," she says. So, they bought a 100-year-old house in Poughkeepsie.
Upon moving upstate, she found the solitude of her attic studio startling. "At first, I really missed having a studio with so many other artists. Then I suddenly got really into being alone," she says, adding, "When I was younger, I needed the input. Now, I come into studio and just work. I've been incredibly productive in last two years."
Whitney Barnes' pieces are compositional collages. Blending scenes from her travel photographs with everyday settings, she imbues the canvas with its own state of being, creating scenes that are fictive yet honest, familiar yet new.
Her recent series focuses on home, an exploration prompted by her new surroundings. The cover image, May Day/Domestic Bliss, is a scene of Whitney Barnes' dining room table. Atop it sits the vase from her wedding, filled with pink dogwoods from the tree in her backyard (a clincher for the house), all beneath a vast and pink (Danish) sky.
"It was the first painting I made where I didn't care if I was flirting with being sweet or sentimental," she says. "I don't know if it as a woman or what, but I felt this pressure, telling myself: 'I couldn't possibly just paint flowers. I am a serious artist. I paint serious things.' I had to give myself permission and tell myself, 'No, this is serious work."
Julia Whitney Barnes' artwork will be on display at Matteawan Gallery in Beacon, as part of the group exhibit "Super Natural," July 8 through August 21. Portfolio:
"Super Natural" on view at Matteawan Gallery from July 8–August 21
Matteawan Gallery is pleased to present Super Natural, a group exhibition of paintings,
drawings, and prints by Julia Whitney Barnes, Gabe Brown, Cecilia Whittaker-Doe, Matt
Frieburghaus, Charles Geiger, and Eleanor Sabin. The show opens Saturday, July 8 and runs
through August 21. There will be a reception for the artists on Saturday, July 8 from 6-9 pm.
Super Natural
Julia Whitney Barnes, Gabe Brown, Cecilia Whittaker-Doe, Matt Frieburghaus, Charles Geiger, Eleanor Sabin
Julia Whitney Barnes, Bricks and Stones May Break (Iceland/Rainbow Windows), 2016, ink and oil on mylar, 25 x 34 in.
July 8 - August 21, 2017
Opening reception Saturday, July 8, 6-9 pm
MATTEAWAN GALLERY 436 MAIN STREET, BEACON NY 12508
INFO@MATTEAWANGALLERY.COM 845-440-7901
Matteawan Gallery is pleased to present Super Natural, a group exhibition of paintings, drawings, and prints by Julia Whitney Barnes, Gabe Brown, Cecilia Whittaker-Doe, Matt Frieburghaus, Charles Geiger, and Eleanor Sabin. The show opens Saturday, July 8 and runs through August 21. There will be a reception for the artists on Saturday, July 8 from 6-9 pm.
Super Natural features 6 artists whose work is deeply influenced by the natural world. Most of them live in urban areas, yet they seek to understand the world around them through a connection with the natural environment. Each artist has a unique approach to interpreting and abstracting nature, although they can also be seen as falling into three discrete groups within the exhibition. Charles Geiger, Gabe Brown, and Eleanor Sabin take an up-close, detailed approach, exploring the dense, repetitive, all over quality of forests and landscape by drawing individual leaves and plants, drops of water, or a forest full of trees. Cecilia Whittaker-Doe and Matt Frieburghaus interpret nature in a more abstract way, with Frieburghaus reducing actual landscapes to their basic forms and colors and Whittaker-Doe creating imaginary landscapes through an accumulation of imagery. Julia Whitney Barnes’ paintings include elements from the human or built environment in surreal juxtapositions with nature.
Charles Geiger is particularly concerned with climate change, and his paintings incorporate botanical imagery and scientific concepts to reinterpret nature in dense surrealist landscapes. In his work, networks of leaves and rhizomes are depicted in a continuous process of breaking and reconnecting. For Geiger, the botanic gestures reflect a life-process where natural systems (biomes) flow, converge and teeter back and forth between entropy and order. He considers his paintings to be a place where rituals of rejuvenation, healing and hope are invoked in a practice he calls “Quasibotanics.”
For Gabe Brown the process of painting is a way to deal with the many possibilities we face in life. She explores what reality beyond our tangible experience might look like, and gives the viewers a glimpse of a parallel universe that questions the natural scheme of life itself. Her diverse imagery searches for meaning in the unknown and encompasses both the seen and unseen, representing different aspects of the world and juxtapositions of opposites: abstract geometric shapes, water droplets spouting from bunches of leaves, and the multiplication of cells and their structures.
Eleanor Sabin is interested in places where the manmade and natural worlds converge. These places embody the history of our environment, and the ways in which our impact continues to be recorded on the landscape around us. Sabin doesn’t attempt to replicate an existing landscape, but rather depicts scenes in which nature has been deliberately arranged and controlled. Sabin writes: “In my drawings I interpret the characteristics of the made and the grown as a way of understanding our impressions and expectations of the natural world.”
Cecilia Whittaker-Doe’s paintings are imaginary rural landscapes. They are the result of an intuitive process seeking places within the paint that suggest movement and change in the form of sun, moonlight, trees, mountains, or rain. Sometimes her paintings begin with specific imagery applied with silkscreen or watercolor onto the surface, a starting point in a process driven by instinct and medium. Whittaker-Doe’s process becomes one of constant taking away and adding to create the experience of wandering into a place both familiar and unfamiliar.
Matt Frieburghaus’ digital prints are created from images captured in Iceland. He starts with a photograph of a landscape and abstracts it digitally using repetition of pixels in horizontal lines to form minimal and abstract images instantly recognizable as landscapes. Colors are also sampled directly from the original images. His works are an exploration of the vastness and geology of the landscape and the northern light that magnifies the simplicity of sea, ice, land, and sky.
Julia Whitney Barnes’ work is multi-disciplinary, executed in a variety of media from oil paintings, ceramic sculptures, murals, drawings, etchings, and site-specific installations. Her boldly colored paintings are based on a variety of source images that are conjoined into unusual landscapes and spaces. A hybrid of interiors, exteriors, realities and fictions, the resulting works combine her drawings and photographs from actual travels along with imagery from places she desires to visit. Whitney Barnes works in the style of many Hudson River School artists who created composite paintings based on sketches from several days and locations distilled into a single image.
MATTEAWAN GALLERY 436 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508 845 440 7901 info@matteawan.com matteawan.com
Collecting historic bricks for installation at GlenLily Grounds
I will be creating a scale version of the Hudson River from NYC to Albany created out of Hudson River bricks at GlenLily Grounds in September 2017. Any Hudson River brick donations (with the brickyard name stamped in the frog) are greatly appreciated. You can find out more about the history of the history of the brick industry here: http://brickcollecting.com/history.htm
"Monsters in America" exhibition at the International Cryptozoology Museum
My painting of "Cassie: The Casco bay Sea Serpent" will be featured in the "Monsters in America" exhibition opening at the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine. The show was originally at One Mile Gallery in Kingston NY and by popular demand is hitting the road.
Whether the protagonist be the Pope Lick Monster, Wampaus Cat, Mothman or Chupacabra, tales of mysterious creatures and inexplicable phenomena have been passed down for generations. Curated by Richard Saja, “Monsters in America”, is a group show featuring various artists’ take on the cryptozoological map of the United States. Each artist focuses on a legendary monster, ancient spirit or alien being.
Richard Saja is an artist working in Catskill, New York. His work has been exhibited in Paris, Berlin, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Shelburne Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the National Museum of Embroidery in South Korea.
Monsters in America exhibition draws inspiration from the Hog Island Press Cryptozoological map of the US.
Two paintings featured in "Beauty" exhibition
Classic. Tragic. Aging. Deconstructed. Sublime. Forbidding. Excessive. Luminous. Dark. Transcendent. Voluptuous. Unexpected. Natural. Humble. Mysterious. Alternative. Oppressive. Anti-. Unlikely. Supernatural. Wondrous. Subtle. Complex. Simple. Cultural. Discreet. Rugged. Comical. Aesthetic. Colorful. Defiant. Intellectual. Mad. Coaxed. Unrelenting. Divine. Universal. Intense. Rich. Indulgent. Fake. Vapid. Hopeless. Challenging. Nonsensical. Foreboding. Glorious. Sad. Burnt. Ominous. Strange. Seductive. Camp.
The tenth annual group exhibition held inside the historic church of St Paul The Apostle will be showcasing the work of 28 artists whose mediums include painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, and site specific installations.
Openings, a collective of visual artists whose vision statement is - Openings believes that the connections between creativity and transcendence foster critical conversations that have the potential to unite individuals across cultural divides - will sponsor the exhibition that runs from September 9th - October 20th, 2016.
The exhibition, curated by Michael Berube and Keena Gonzalez, features work by:
Alex Golden, Ashley Norwood Cooper, Caroline Wells Chandler, Georgia Elrod, J Grabowski, Jackie Slanley, Jason Saager, Joe Smith, Joel Carreiro, Jonathan David Smyth, Julia Whitney Barnes, Kajahl, Laura Sue King, Lourdes Bernard, Mark Attebery, Mark Brennan, Matthew Farrell, Matthew Garrison, Melissa Brown, Michelle Gevint, Mickalene Thomas, Nickolas Roudané, Sandra Mack-Valencia, Sandy Frank, Sarah Dineen, Tom Beale, Veronica O'Keefe Ruoff, Yu Zhang.
Opening Reception: September 15th, 2016 7-9 p.m.
Artist Walk Thru: October 6th, 2016 7-9 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: September 9th - October 20th
Mon - Fri 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sat - Sun 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Church of St. Paul the Apostle
Corner of West 60th & Columbus Ave. (212) 265-3495
New York, New York 10019
"Monsters In America" exhibition at One Mile Gallery in Kingston, NY
The "Monsters in America" exhibition curated by Richard Saja and based on the fantastic poster by Hog Island Press. I chose to make my painting of mythical the Casco Bay (Maine) Sea Serpent. Cassie, as she is frequently known, is seen peeking out of the water nearby Fort Gorges with an ominous yet friendly pink sky casting light from above.
Monsters in America
One Mile Gallery
opening reception, Saturday, September 3, 6-9 p.m
One Mile Gallery, 475 Abeel Street, Kingston, NY
www.onemilegallery.com
For more info on the show click here to read the article in Hudson Valley One.
Gowanus Mural featured in The New York Times
Michael Kimmelman's article "In Gowanus, a People’s Housing Plan to Challenge the Mayor’s" features Hiroko Masuike's photograph of "Gowanus: Industry Meets Ecology" collaborative mural.
Expansive Gowanus mural unveiled
Artists Julia Whitney Barnes and Ruth Hofheimer unveil their community organized project on the canal-facing wall of Dykes Lumber, creating a new vista from Whole Foods.
BROOKLYN, August 17, 2015 – Arts Gowanus and the Old Stone House & Washington Park are pleased to announce the unveiling of a large scale mural project by artists Julia Whitney Barnes and Ruth Hofheimer on the canal facing wall of the Dykes Lumber building, the first piece of a larger Gowanus Public Art Project underwritten by New York Councilmember Brad Lander, with support from Arts Gowanus and the Old Stone House & Washington Park.
The unveiling will take place on Thursday, August 20, from 6 pm – 8 pm in the Whole Foods Park on Third Avenue and 3rd Street in Gowanus/Brooklyn.
The mural, which can be seen in full from Whole Foods, aims to connect its urban audience to nature in the Gowanus through the use of organic forms native to the area. This artistic intention parallels the environment work of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, which provided invaluable volunteer support to complete the project. Other inspiration is drawn from the mixed use industrial landscape of the Gowanus neighborhood, as well as the canals and floating gardens of Xochimilco in Mexico City, and Patricia Johanson’s functional eco-art.
Other projects in this participatory public art series that will engage numerous artists, youth, and community residents in the creation of 6 public artworks over the next 12 months include a photo mural on 8th Street by photographer Joe Cantor; an outdoor Art Lab by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy; a traffic safety education mural by Groundswell at 138 5th Avenue; a parklet at Ennis Playground by Michael Clyde Johnson; a mural by Miquel Del Real at the 19th Street overpass; and The Keepers, a performance art piece by Ed Woodham.
Underwritten by a total of $35,000 in funding from Councilmember Brad Lander, this series aims to create new platforms for public art and new opportunities for the artists, while at the same time showcasing what makes Gowanus “Gowanus”: the history, the Canal, the culture of creativity and the diversity of the community. Known for its industrial past and polluted canal, Gowanus is now home to hundreds of artists and creative businesses.
About Julia Whitney Barnes
Julia Whitney Barnes is a multi-disciplinary artist who makes indoor and outdoor works related to the natural world. Ecological practices and the complex relationship humans have with the environment influence her work. Shown nationally and internationally, Julia has created site specific works in numerous venues. Julia is a Vermont native, long-time Brooklyn transplant, and since 2006 her studio has been in Gowanus.
About Ruth Hofheimer:
Ruth Hofheimer is an artist engaged in public art, community organizing and urban environmentalism. She believes in the power of beautiful and engaging public spaces to build stronger communities and has partnered with public organizations, non-profits, schools and community groups in New York City to create a number of large-scale murals and sculptures. Over the past three years Ruth has worked in various capacities with a number of Gowanus non-profits including Arts Gowanus, The Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Build It Green! NYC and Groundswell. She is also an architectural designer and is connected through this work to numerous businesses in the area including a longstanding relationship with Dyke’s Gowanus.
About Arts Gowanus
Arts Gowanus supports artists and artmaking, builds bridges between arts and the community, and works to ensure that the Gowanus neighborhood continues to nurture artists.
About Councilmember Brad Lander
Brad Lander has represented Brooklyn’s 39th District since 2009, and is a leader on issues of affordable housing, livable communities, the environment and public education. He is committed to the Gowanus as a cultural community.
About Old Stone House & Washington Park
The Old Stone House is an active cultural site and presenting organization dedicated to creating a strong sense of community through history, environmental education and the arts.
Bay Ridge SAW mural completed
“Legal Aviary” 2015, acrylic paint on building façade
Bay Ridge SAW Installation
at Sichenze & Sichenze Law Office
7703 5th Avenue (at 77th St), Brooklyn NY
More information at: http://www.bayridgesaw.org/
Eagles dominate the raptor family in evolution and symbolism. Once endangered, they have recently made a historic resurgence, flourishing in the wild and recently returning to New York City after a lengthy hiatus. Their ubiquitous presence on our federal buildings and currency heralds the bravery and strength we identify as inherently American. Facing extinction in the middle of the twentieth century, Peregrine falcons are again flourishing in our metropolis. Native cliff dwellers, their graceful ferocity is distinctly suited to the vertical canyons of New York City. Their graceful resilience in our urbanity is a symbol of our own determination and courage. The Great Horned Owl’s large eyes and steady presence project wisdom and patience. The Owl’s conservation of motion and grandeur in attack combine for an enduring symbol of jurisprudence and scholarship. Placed above the doorways and windows of Sichenze & Sichenze, the center perch is occupied by a sculpted Eagle, originally purchased and installed by Andrew Sichenze. My intervention iinvolved painting a sky in each pediment, repainting the center eagle, to the viewer’s right the painted Falcon, and to the left, the painted Owl, all executed in gold.
