Carole Barrer

Carole Barrer explores space and color through meditations on nature. Barrer’s paintings convey a sense of natural phenomena with interplay of color. Small intricacies of nature such as a wisp of cirrus cloud, transformed by changing light; filtered green sunlight in a deep forest; breeze rippled water; the connection of a blade of grass to its roots are abstractly portrayed in her works.

Alternating application of complementary hues increases the perceptual luminescence of each piece. Barrer glazes countless layers of pigment in order to enhance the color subtlety and complexity of the work. As she layers the pigment, spatial relationships change. Attention to balancing these small changes in color allows her to achieve a coherent sense of space. In turn, these details invite the viewer to explore the finer distinctions of the painting. Even slight shifts in light or prolonged viewing reward one’s sustained contemplation. In art, as in life, attention to the medley of minutia determines the larger picture, always.

Carole Barrer has a restless intelligence and natural curiosity, spanning the arts, sciences, choreography, painting and printmaking. She has a breadth of teaching experience across the arts, including movement, performance, choreography, and bodywork; and language arts, including speech and hearing; and visual arts. Barrer has exhibited her art consistently for more than thirty-five years, in gallery and museum exhibitions, to regional and national acclaim. Her art is included in select public collections in the Pacific Northwest, and in more than eighty private U.S. collections. She was born in New York City, and currently lives and works in Seattle.