DVAA Member since 2023
Eleanor Barba
Website:
About:
Eleanor Barba is a multi-media artist proudly living and working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She currently enjoys thinking and making work about domesticity and balance, sex and the humor and tragedy thereof, and her body and the body of prose—all through a cozy and familiar lens. She has recent public works in the Philadelphia Airport and the South Philadelphia Walmart. She's been published in "Stone Fruit Zine" and on NextCity.org.
Artist Statement:
I focus on the intersection of domesticity and burden while trying to find comfort in it. Through a lens of color and humor, I aim to be inviting and create ease in the uncomfortable. For my “Streaker” series, I am enamored by putting one’s vulnerable body into an arena designed for rigid and demanding actions. I illustrate that softness and absurdity by portraying them in quilts. In my paintings, I like to show snapshots of sweet and unordinary moments of home (a husband sleeping in a strange position, green tomatoes set to ripen on a tray upon a washing machine, etc.)--elevating the scenes to wonder “who made that bed?” or “who put those there?”. Incorporating words into my pieces, often straight from my journal, keeps the work in the present and strikes an homage to all of the diaries kept by women who help paint scenes from their history. Additionally, quilting my paintings combines the hyper-focused world of traditional oil paintings and the often-overlooked artistry of fiber artists.
