Kristin Barton

Studio #37

“I make paintings and drawings, including large scale encaustic paintings and site specific somatic drawings. I work primarily in oil, encaustic, pure natural pigments, ink, and charcoal. My work is a dialogue between figuration and abstraction, form and freedom; a meditative process drawing upon experiences and inspiration from nature (most often water, but always a quest to access the true nature of color and light). I am interested in the morphological processes inherent within all of nature and how these manifest within our bodies, specifically through movement and intentional communion with nature. I observe and study light, color, and flow forms, contemplating the intersections between human-made situations and natural phenomena and the mechanisms by which mother nature seeks to recover and heal. These formative and (re)generative forces of the earth below are reflective of and inextricably interconnected with that which exists in the cosmos above.”

“How do our senses act (or not!) as an intermediary for “objective reality”? How does our individual experience relate to the micro- and macrocosmic arenas of creation and dissolution? How can the process of making “art” be a conduit to further understanding something about the human condition in this pivotal time in the evolution (and destruction) of the earth? Can making work as a devotional practice function as a call for healing far beyond our selves? In the midst of current global crises and circumstances, what is the purpose and role of the artist? I invite you to join me in my studio- my sanctuary- to contemplate these questions and others through conversation if you are so inclined- or to come and simply look deeply and sit in silence.”