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MELISSA BARBER
Melissa Barber’s work combines stylised abstraction with the readily identifiable. Deeply influenced by Japanese and Chinese art for their use of negative space versus detail, flat colour and strong use of golds and silvers, Barber’s paintings reflect an aesthetically decorative, yet spiritually meditative response to nature.
Composition is governed by the balance of concentrated fine brush work and impasto relief with vast expanses of negative space that implies close referencing to the principles of the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging. A concentration of foliage detail maybe balanced by a rogue sprig that pushes into the negative space within a painting. In the Roses and Poppies series each flower is positioned in relativity to the next appearing random but whose position is carefully decided.
Barber’s linear style of monochromatic painting on panels of glistening golds and silvers also reflect the two dimensional character of Japanese Screen paintings and woodblock prints. Flowers, trees, peacock feathers are all reduced to their basic forms, yet are easily identifiable; the head of a flower, the cluster of foliage on a tree and the eye of a peacock feather all take on a jewel like appearance glistening against shimmering metallic backgrounds.
Barber paints in series format, often at the same time and her work first came to prominence with the floating Poppies and Roses series back in 1999. The pure structure of these flower forms has lead to the development of the Magic Hill series and Jacques series in recent years.
In 1999 Barber established a café and gallery in the NSW Central Western town of Canowindra whose location provided a constant audience to her work. She ran this for seven years before selling the building and concentrating on expanding artistic reputation in other areas.
She now has work in private and corporate collections throughout Australia, New Zealand, the United States, China, Malaysia, France, England and Ireland.
Melissa Barber is also represented in
CANBERRA
Aarwun Gallery
Shop 11, Federation Square
O’Hanlon Place
NICHOLLS ACT 2913
Tel 02 6230 2055
SYDNEY
Gallery Oscar
42 Murdoch Street
TURRAMURRA NSW 2074
Tel 02 9988 4531
ORANGE
ArtofOrange
Mornington Peninsula
McGee’s Gallery
1 Queen Street
MORNINGTON VIC
Tel 03 5976 3830
CANOWINDRA
Studio Visits by Appointment
Tel 02 6344 2431
MOLONG
Jayes Gallery
31-33 Gidley Street
MOLONG NSW 2866