March Artist of the Month: Hayley Barker

[Hayley Barker. The One that Eats Your Fears, 22 wide by 30 inches high, ink, pencil, & gouache on paper. 2008.]

March came and went and I didn't post on Hayley Barker, the artist of the month. I came across Barker through MU's Art Gym. Sadly, Dan and I missed her exhibit, Wolves and Urchins. The day we were in the neighborhood, I think that the gallery was closed for Spring Break. Regardless, I fell in love with the ink, pencil, and gouache works on paper. There is an element of the grotesque in natural elements and creatures that I am drawn to (I'm beginning to establish a theme, aren't I?) She writes in her artist statement:

"I am using the idea of a “monster” as a template on which to build representations of the other as creatures that both explode and implode; living conglomerations that are on the verge of formlessness."

I also love working with these mediums and her work, as well as Rankin's work, has inspired me (after a very long sabbatical) to begin my series involving anatomy and the intangible degrees of pain and suffering.

Links for further exploration of Barker's work:
Hayley Barker official web site
Hayley Barker blog
Gallery Representation at Charles A. Hartman Fine Art