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B A R B A R A B O U M A N J A Y 2 0 0 8. b i o |
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Barbara has been exploring non-representational abstraction for more than thirty years. She works in a variety of mediums and techniques, including oil and encaustic paintings on canvas, board or paper, as well as contemporary printmaking techniques of monotype and monoprint. Her works are both experimental and deliberate which include geometric abstractions, architectural constructions, gestural mark making and seductive surfaces that make time and place indeterminable. The work addresses proportion and balance with gestures that punctuate the other compositional elements. Though her works are basically nonobjective, some works contain fragmented archetypal symbols, imagery that we sense we know. Her repertoire of shapes, symbols and colors give a quietly impulsive feel and a hint of calligraphic interpretation. During her early college years, while studying sociology and art at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, she encountered the powerful influence of the 60’s abstract artists. This experience greatly affected her thinking and her art. Graduating in 1969 with a BA in Sociology, her graduate studies were in studio art and art education and she earned a secondary art teaching credential. Leaving Tampa in 1973, she began a three-year travel odyssey, working and studying in Iceland, England and Germany and West Africa. Traveling throughout sub-Saharan West Africa with her husband, composer/musician Stephen Jay, inner drives and external influences resulted in cultural explorations and the challenges of survival. An appreciation and excitement of living in exotic places gave her a unique perspective of life, which she considers to be integral to her art. An emerging direction to her work began. Upon returning to Florida in 1976, she became a high school teacher and community college instructor in the arts. During that time, she taught a variety of subjects, including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics and art history. In 1983, she moved to Southern California with her sons and husband. Continuing to teach and acting as department chair for two additional years, she balanced teaching and creating art. In 1987, she made the decision to pursue the profession of artist on a full-time basis. After many years of working alone in her home studio, she purchased a Takach etching press with a 40”x72” bed and opened her first printmaking/painting studio in 1990. In late 2004, she and her husband moved to a ranch north of Los Angeles where his recording studio and her art studio are now located. Because of the inspiration and beauty of the land, they named their ranch, MUSE Ranch. There she continues to be dedicated to the process of creating works that support spontaneous creative expression, inventing and reinventing methods of working that fulfill her needs as an artist. Barbara exhibits regularly across the United States in numerous juried group shows, nationally attended art fairs and festivals. Additionally, solo exhibits have taken place in museum, gallery, and college venues. Her work is held in numerous private collections, corporate and permanent city collections. For a selected list of past exhibitions, please see Barbara's resume. resume |
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