Artwork Description
John Barker – The Arrest
Dimensions: 25.5 x 37.5″ framed / 24 x 36″ unframed
Year: 2020
Medium: acrylic on canvas
Local Santa Fe artist John Barker made up a word to describe his work. The word is “distractionism.” This is a very accurate description, for his art often feels simultaneously distracting and preoccupied. His style is slightly abstract scribbled figures, full of noise and vibrant colors. He took his first art class in the basement of the New Mexico Museum Of Fine Arts at the age of twelve, where he soon discovered other people were far more interesting than the still life he was assigned to draw. He began to draw scribble figures inspired by the people he knew, encapsulating their personalities and physical characteristics into abstract paintings. He discovered his art style in that basement, and this led him to where he is today.
-Tien Zin Furgason-Ho