Deborah Barlow

Barlow describes her work as “a record of the complex interaction” of a variety of materials: powders, metals, and fluids.  Through the repeated layering of these materials—and also allowing thinned colors to capture sand, pebbles, minerals, and even seed pods —her approach is the product of a sort of "controlled spontaneity."  Her finished works call to mind any number of natural analogies—from microscopic cells to the surfaces of planets. Barlow says: “Because I was raised in the desert, I have a strong sense of the earth and its surfaces. In that landscape, it is easy to see that everything is layered and that surfaces change through the action of slow, repetitive processes.” Barlow’s own process creates “surfaces” that are rich in their tactility, depth, and ability to attract light.

 Barlow, who holds a degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz and is now based in Boston, has had over fifty solo exhibits during the course of her career, including exhibits at the Woodbury Museum in Utah and the Morris Graves Museum of Art in California. She also writes about art and creativity, and has a blog, Slow Muse (slowmuse.com).