Barbara Prey in front of her painting “Channeled Light,” currently on exhibit at Barbara Prey Projects. The Boston Globe compared Prey’s handling of light in this painting to Vermeer. Submitted photo
Internationally-acclaimed artist Barbara Ernst Prey will offer a gallery talk of her current exhibit, “20 in 2020,” from 4-5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30, continuing the 20th Anniversary Celebration at Barbara Prey Projects in Port Clyde.
The Boston Globe writes that “Her attention to windows recalls Vermeer … it’s a painter’s job to notice, and to draw out the nuance and light in what the rest of us ignore. Prey has that eye and hand … what she makes touches the divine and has staying power.”
Prey is currently included in the exhibition “Blue” in New York with Picasso, Matisse and Miro. “I’ve been fortunate this year to have my artwork included in several museum exhibitions beside artists from the art historical canon I’ve admired and whose work has influenced mine including Titian, Matisse, Klee, Kandinsky, Calder and contemporaries Pollock, Ellsworth Kelly, de Kooning, Hockney … but the greatest influence was my mother”.
Also included in the 20th celebration in the upstairs gallery is the exhibition “Mother Daughter: Two Generations.” Prey will also discuss the strong influence of her mother, Peggy Joubert Ernst who was head of the design department at New York’s Pratt Art Institute and growing up in a world surrounded by art.
Barbara Prey painting the MASS MoCA Museum commissioned painting, Building 6 for their new wing which just opened. The painting is on long term exhibition. Submitted photo
In addition she will discuss her recent MASS MoCA museum commission for their new Building 6. MASS MoCA commissioned her to paint the largest watercolor in the world currently on display at the museum – she shares the space with Louise Bourgeoise, James Turrell, Jenny Holzer and Robert Rauschenberg.
Prey will speak on her national commissions including The White House Christmas Card, four of her NASA paintings including The Columbia Tribute on exhibit at The Kennedy Space Center, her work with the U.S. State Department through the Art in Embassies Program as well as her work as a Presidential Appointee to the National Council on the Arts, the Advisory Board to the National Endowment for the Arts. Her paintings are included in some of the most important public and private collections around the world including The National Gallery of Art, The White House (she is 1 of 2 living female artists represented), The Brooklyn Museum, The Smithsonian American Art Museum and MASS MoCA.
“20 in 2020: Celebrating 2 Decades” continues through Monday, Sept. 7. Barbara Prey Projects is located on Main Street, Port Clyde. The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call (207) 372-8087, email info@barbarapreyprojects.com or visit www.barbaraprey.com.
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