Barbara Schaefer
Barbara Schaefer · Source: New York Artists Circle · Rights retained by the original rights holders
- Medium
- Acrylic Paint, Paper
- Practice
- Digital/Web based, Drawing, Film/Video, Mixed Media, Painting, Works on Paper
Barbara Schaefer is an interdisciplinary artist whose paintings and photographs are exhibited internationally. She obtained a BFA from The University of Arizona and an MFA from San Francisco State University. She won a H… Full biography
Biography
Barbara Schaefer is an interdisciplinary artist whose paintings and photographs are exhibited internationally. She obtained a BFA from The University of Arizona and an MFA from San Francisco State University. She won a Helen Wurlitzer Foundation Artist-in-Residency award in 1997, the New York Foundation for The Arts Sponsorship in 1996, a grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2004, and an Artist-in-Residency award at the Fundación Valparaiso in 2005. In 2011, Barbara had a solo museum exhibition at the Museo Comunale D’Arte Moderna in Senigallia, Italy, and received a grant from Franklin Furnace. In 2015, Barbara’s photography was exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, and at the Scope Art Fair in Miami. In 2016 she had a solo exhibition in Rome, Italy at Studio Matacotta. In 2017 “Uninhabited Rooms,” a three-year collaborative project with two Mexican artists was held at El Barrio’s ArtSpace PS 109 in East Harlem. In 2019 Barbara had a solo exhibition at The Macro Museum in Rome.
Barbara lived in Rome, Italy from 1983 until 1995. Her experience of living in Rome had a significant impact and influence on her work and in her life. The city's beauty inspired her toward refinement and aesthetic choice, while its omnipresent history permeated her work. Italian culture and language, so rich and lively, compelled her to think and act in ways she would not have otherwise discovered.
Artist statement
My work in various art forms - dance, choreography, continuum movement, writing, and music - has informed and enhanced my primary work as a visual artist. The inter-relationship of these disciplines develops my awareness of the underlying principles that are essential to all art forms. First, all art-making requires presence, patience, and showing up for the work, even when it seems nothing is happening. Then, listening, observation, decisiveness, and release.
Regarding photography, which began in 2007: I work at night, in the dark. I discover and am surprised by the absence of light and noise. Using only flickers from a flashlight, I paint with light. Having painted for many years, this process of painting with light is a natural progression. My work is not constructed, but emerges as life presents itself moment to moment. When working with another, I invite the person to move within the space on her or his own accord. In this way, everyone’s intuition is heightened. What emerges is authentic, fresh, and surprising. And always unknown.
When working without people, I move within the space, allowing the space to inform me as if it were a living being.
This work continues my lifelong artistic interests: What manifests from the unknown, the invisible? How to trust it?
My painting has gone through many phases, with a hiatus of working with painting with light. The paintings displayed on this site are selections from various works and a series during the current Covid 19 Pandemic.
