iris barrera
iris barrera Selected works 2008-2015
The enigmas presented to me by everyday life are the impulse of my artistic production. Contemporary delusion derived from being extremely secure, protected, from limits, enclosure and boundaries, and the underlying fear of death, are some of the subjects I question. Anonymous debris that bears untold stories and encloses the unknown, attract my sight and invite me to record them in a profound state of contemplation. A whimsical observation, infinite, almost unachievable. I collect images as if gathering a tedious inventory. Hordes. Enjoying the meaninglessness of casting time. Painting takes me to the limits of obsession, through a process of superposing layers of abstraction and realism, creating delimited spaces that overlap, intensifying the distance between the different planes.
In her most recent works, Barrera picks up painting to trace a bridge with her earlier productions, through this language that implies stepping out from contemplation towards pure interpretation. The elements that compose her paintings are present in her photographs. The series “Private Property� is a hinge, a clear point of inflection. Her questioning of what's inside/outside, the position of the spectator when discerning the spaciousness of the image. The work primarily functions as a window, an opening towards a place that leaves you questioning where you're standing. The landscape cannot be recognized anymore, nor can the quotes, and the image's structures become more complex in a maze that denounces the infiltrated urbanity within a landscape we once saw as pure. Although the information layers superimposed make it impossible for a semantic of the image, Barrera challenges us to a personal reconstruction of the real scene hidden from us. Because were aren't contemplating something that's happening in front, ahead, outside, we're immersed in that which we can't clearly identify, becoming quite unsettling. The consecutive layers of paint are not a transparent veiling, they're layers of information that occlude each other, opening to the possibility of a more complex meaning. Guido Ignatti March 2015
Mandalas
Blurred
Private property
Paintings
Photographs of culverts, classified according to their appearance. Archive contains 597 models, photographed on the street of 50 cities in Europe, America, Asia and Africa.
Mandalas, 2008/2015 Lexan translucent RHO 750 200 units, 90 cm x 92 cm each
Photographs of spaces that have been divided by security fences and to which the access has been restricted.
Private Property, 2014/2015 Lambda print mounted on Sintra 43 cm x 58 cm
Reflected on my pictorial works are my questionings about the limits and frontiers that surround us. I paint layer of colors, textures and motifs to signalize confusing distances. Without time constraints, patience and meditation, I dedicate myself to make very precise details that separate the different spaces.
Paintings, 2014/2015 acrylic on canvas 150 cm x 150 cm
Photographs that recreate the blurry and suffocating landscape of a decaying and harsh present.
Blurred, 2014 Lambda prints mounted on Sintra 43 cm x 58 cm
Iris Barrera (1964, Argentina) is an artist based in Buenos Aires and Nice. Having attended several art and portfolio review seminars with Manuel Amestoy, Andrea Juan, Augusto Zanella, Sergio Bazán and Eduardo Medici at Arte x Arte Gallery in Buenos Aires, she went on to study painting at Sergio Bazán's Atelier, where she continues to perfect her techniques. Iris studied photography at Academia de Artes Visuales (AAVI) in Mexico, at The National College of Photography of Johannesburg and as an Artist-inResidence at the School of Visual Arts of New York, while also holding a Bsc in Finance from Universidad Argentina de la Empresa.
EXPOSITIONS Perdido, Panal 361 Gallery, curated by Furor Arte 2014 Perdido, #3, El Ojo Errante Gallery, curated by Furor Arte 2014 Plan de juego #3, desvíos, ArtexArte Gallery, curated by Andrea Juan 2013 Cruces y desvíos, fin, La Sin Futuro Gallery, curated by Augusto Zanella 2013 La del fin, Castelar, ArtexArte Gallery, curated by Sergio Bazan 2013 Castelar, tiempos, ArtexArte Gallery, curated by M. Ameztoy Ameztoy 2012 Composición en tres tiempos, evidence, solo exhibition at JWT Johannesburg Head Office 2011 Tracing evidence,
Concept and image selection Iris Barrera Marcos Mangani Texts Iris Barrera Guido Ignatti Translation Lucila Gamen (English - French) Ramiro Gamen (Spanish - English) Tomรกs Grosz (Spanish - French) Graphic design Marcos Mangani Special thanks to: Sergio Bazรกn Mirta Cammerucci Adriana Carambia Edition March 2015 www.irisbarrera.com // contact@irisbarrera.com