Barbara Long British, b. 18 March, 1960
We all have to deal with mess. We find it in our environment, in our homes and in our heads. This mess drives Barbara's art practice: in her sculptures and assemblages, she integrate life’s detritus.
She workd with fragments of previous work and old sketches, cloths used for mopping up in the studio, old threads and wire, tree prunings. She draws on domestic processes, including weaving, stitching, darning, binding, repairing and dyeing: the supposedly “low” arts or crafts usually associated with women. It is a tireless process of making, tearing apart and re-making, a creative process deliberately visible in the final work.
Inspired by natural forms, her sculptures call to mind nests, vessels, nets and cage, and cast shadows on the surrounding space. As metaphorical and literal containers of mess, they relate to her studies in art therapy and the concept of the “holding environment”: the nurturing space created for a patient by the therapist.
Recently she have been dwelling on motherhood, memory and legacy. Using discarded electric wires and packaging materials which she covers with her mother’s old stained dusters and cloths, Barbara is creating larger scale sculptures that invite viewers to enter into them and to explore and modify them. On a smaller scale, she is working on old, worn out cleaning cloths elevating them to the iconic reminiscent of 19th century embroidery samplers.
Education
History of Art, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Masters in Art Psychotherapy
Diploma, Group Psychology, University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
Exhibitions (Solo)
2024 Recollect, Remendar, Reconectar, 7 Islas Hotel, Madrid
2023 Stairway to Heaven, Zona Incontrolable, Madrid
2023 Raices, Zona Incontrolable, Madrid
2021 Structures of Thought 022: Online Exhibition, The MIA Collection
2020 Shelter from the storm, Estudio de Alvaro Catalan de Ocon, Madrid
Exhibitions (Group)
2024 The Elephant is Still in the Room, Centre de Arte Agueda, Portugal
2023 En Casa at Home, Museo Encartada, Pais Vasco
2023 Stairway to Heaven, Madre Natura, Madrid Design Festival, Centro Fernan Gomez
2023 Open Estudio Naranjo Azul, Carabanchel, invited artist
2022 Reclaim, OXO Tower Wharf, London, with Ruup & Form Gallery
2022 En Casa at Home, Casa Bonita, Carabanchel, Madrid
2022 1er Premio de Arte Textil Contemporaneo, Elche, Alicante
2022 World Textile Assoc Bienal 25 Anniversary, Mother Material Reimagines, Est Art Space,
Madrid
2022 Open Estudio Naranjo Azul, Carabanchel, invited artist
2022 Stairway to Heaven, Selected & Extreme, Est Art Space, Madrid
2021 Stairway to Heaven, Art Battalion, Plaza de Espana, Madrid
2021 Antes Durante Despues, Espai 30, Barcelona
Residencies
2023 Mini Residency Casa Movil, Cadiz
2022 Desenredando la Merina, Ras de Terra, Extramadura
2022 Fresh Air Sculpture, UK, exhibiting artist and artist in residence with “Cobijos”
2022 Des- Tejiendo, Residency at Estudio Alvaro Catalan de Ocon
2021 Residency, Ciclos de la vida, Dejando huellas, El Hacedor, Burgos
2020 Residency Paisaje Abierta, Plena Madrid
Prizes (last 2 years)
2023 1er Premio de Arte Textil Contemporaneo, Kitchen Sink Dramas, seleccionado
2022 WTA Bienal Artista Invitada