ABOUT BARBARA HART
Barbara Hart grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She studied art and creative writing at LSU. She is a published poet with work appearing in Exquisite Corpse, Southern Poetry Review, Columbia: Review of Poetry and Prose, and Cream City Review, among others. She worked in the arts in many capacities including gallery management and fundraising. Most recently she opened Studio Hart Gallery in Buffalo, New York, which had an exciting 10 year run. During that time Hart and gallerist Elisabeth Samuels were instrumental in establishing the Greater Allentown First Friday Gallery Walk which continues today.
Hart was always creatively active, but her work intensified while running Studio Hart. She began drawing on pegs to create “little wood people” which became her delightful obsession; ultimately she sold in excess of 1000 in the United States and internationally, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
This work and the years of engagement with art fueled Hart’s desire to commit to a serious effort to develop her artistic potential. She continued with doll work, moving from drawing on pegs to carving figures from wood. These figures were chosen for the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s Art In Craft juried exhibition 2015, 2017, and 2021. She also focused on painting, and her work has been recognized in shows including Contemporary Portraiture group invitational at Burchfield Penney Art Center, and the Made In New York 2020 and 2023 exhibitions at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY, and she was honored to win the gold medal in the Buffalo Society of Artists Annual Catalog Exhibition in 2022.
Hart continues her active involvement in the community through support and participation in various arts events at Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo Artist Studios, and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, and as an exhibiting member of the Buffalo Society of Artists.
Artist Statement
My portraiture is an expression of empathy. Sourcing images from mugshots, vintage photo strips, and condition photos of objects/toys for sale on internet auction sites, I project narratives and identity on anonymous subjects. I empathize with people and objects unknown to me, devoting extensive time and effort to give each character the dignity of formal representation. My characters are often in difficult situations, challenged to appear or act with dignity as life goes against them. I paint both humans and dolls. I feel the dolls are best at representing trauma, and the effects of interaction with humans. They can also represent the “hardening” of our human self as we continue through life. Ultimately, I feel spiritually connected to each anonymous subject. We each make a monumental personal journey from birth to death regardless of circumstances. My art asks for empathy as we share the challenge.
EXHIBITIONS
Buffalo Society of Artists 128th Catalog Exhibition, Bronze Medal winner, Kenan Art Center, Lockport, NY. September 15 – October 13, 2024
REFLECTIONS, group exibition, Maryland Federation for the Arts Circle Gallery. Juror: Nicole M. Santiago: Professor of Art at William & Mary University. Jurors Choice award. March 27 – April 27, 2024
EMPATHY: Paintings by Barbara Hart, 2-person show, with Dianne Baker: Sculpture, Buffalo Art Movement (BAM!), Buffalo, NY, November 3 - December 1, 2023.
Buffalo Society of Artists 127th Catalog Exhibition, Springville Center for the Arts, Springville, NY. September 14 – October 28, 2023
Made in New York 2023, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY. Jurors: artists Gary Sczerbaniewicz, Theda Sandiford, and Kevin Larmon. Exhibit dates: March 25 - May 28, 2023
Buffalo Society of Artists 126th Catalog Exhibition, Gold Medal Winner, Juror Laura Domencic, Executive Director of the Erie Art Museum, Buffalo Art Movement (BAM), September 16 - October 21, 2022.
Buffalo Society of Artists Open Members Exhibition, virtual, June 28, 2022, continuing.
2022 Spring Exhibition, Buffalo Society of Artists, Kenan Center, Lockport, NY, Juried by Judy Barie, director of CVA Galleries in Chautauqua, NY., February 20 -March 27, 2022
Western New York Artists Group 26th Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Traditional Works, Juried by Joseph A. Miller, Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY, Feb. 4 -Mar. 11, 2022
Art in Craft Media 2021, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY; juried by Garth Johnson, the Paul Phillips & Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics at the Everson Museum of Art. Exhibit dates July 12 - November 28, 2021
Made In NY 2020, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY, juried by Sharon Louden, Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution; George Afedzi-Huges, Associate Professor at the Department of Art, SUNY; and Hannah Frieser, Executive Director for the Center for Photography at Woodstock. Exhibit runs June 12-August 7, 2021.
2020 Vision: Seeing ourselves through challenging times, Cabrillo Gallery, Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA, juried by Eleanor Harwood, owner of Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA, March 22 - April 16, 2021
Contemporary Portraiture, group invitational, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY, March 8 -June 2, 2019
Another life: Paintings by Barbara Hart, Pine Apple Company, Buffalo, NY August, 2018
Art in Craft Media 2017, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY, juried by Monica Moses, editor in chief of American Craft magazine
We Are The Resistance! Group Invitational, Revolution Gallery, Buffalo, NY, March 25 - April 29, 2017.
SAIL AWAY: A Mixed Media Group Exhibition, Studio Hart Contemporary Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, January 6-28, 2017
Art in Craft Media, 2015, Burchfield Penney Art Center, juror Wayne Higby, Professor and the Robert C. Turner Chair of Ceramic Art at the New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, where he also serves as the Director and Curator of Alfred Ceramic Art Museum.
INVITATIONAL/JURIED FESTIVALS/EVENTS
Burchfield Penney Gala and Auction, 2024
Live on Five mobile art auction, Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo, NY, March, 2023
A Midwinter's Draw: Drawing Rally and Silent Auction, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, March 2, 2022
A Midsummer’s Draw: Drawing Rally and Silent Auction, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, August 1, 2021
Live on Five mobile art auction, Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo, NY, April, 2021
A Midwinter’s Draw: Drawing Rally and Silent Auction, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, February 24, 2021
CO-ARTIFACT 2020, Collaborative Art Exhibition, Auction & Fundraiser; collaborated with developmentally challenged adult artist to create a painting, Starlight Studio, Buffalo, NY, August 6-9, 2020
Live on Five mobile art auction, Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo, NY, April, 2020
Art is a Gift Holiday Market, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY, annually 2010 - 2019
A Midsummer's Draw: Drawing Rally and Silent Auction, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, July 31, 2019
A Midwinter's Draw: Drawing Rally and Silent Auction, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, February 6, 2019
A Midsummer's Draw: Drawing Rally and Silent Auction, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, August 1, 2018
A Midwinter's Draw: Drawing Rally and Silent Auction, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY, February 28, 2018
Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, juried art festival, Buffalo, New York, 2012, 2010
PUBLICATIONS
Cover Image, The Public newsweekly, 8/08/18
Poetry Published (as Barbara Fritchie) in Exquisite Corpse, Columbia: A Magazine of Poetry and Prose, Cream City Review, New Delta Review, Poetry Motel, and Southern Poetry Review
COLLECTIONS
Burchfield Penney Art Center, Lady in Red and Horned Figure, sculptural wood figures, 2015
The Gerald Mead Collection, Mugshot Portrait: Anonymous 3, watercolor on paper, 2017
OVER 1,000 Little Wood People have sold to art appreciators in the United States and internationally, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.