BARBARA LEE SMITH
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Barbara Lee Smith is an internationally acknowledged textile artist, teacher, lecturer and author. Since 1992 she has utilized a non-woven industrial fabric as the foundation for her work, creating an intricate surface, printed and painted, collaged and stitched to capture non-representational, atmospheric and landscape references. She holds an MFA in Mixed Media from Northern Illinois University. She has had over 30 solo exhibitions; more than 50 invitational group exhibitions and is in museum, university and public collections throughout the world.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I grew up by the ocean and the impact of nature is part of me. I am moved by change: day becomes night; winter begets a year of change; unblemished surfaces age, rust and crust. There is beauty in every bit of this, whether appreciated at a distance or inspired by wonder right under my feet. I hope for the strength to welcome change.
Music was part of my life from the time I was three and started picking out the tunes my older siblings were practicing on the piano. I waken with music in my head, and music accompanies much of my studio work. I love the blending of voices, of dissonance resolving into melody, and I see my work in color doing much the same thing.
I aim to engage the viewer; offering time out from our difficult and complicated lives. I hope it heals. Cutting, sewing, mending, patching, binding: These are all elements of the textile world, and I relish their healing associations.
Over decades of work I’ve accumulated thousands of remainders of my painted fabric, and this collection is now my palette. I use these bits and pieces as if they were brush strokes of color and texture, fusing them to the same fabric - an industrial non-woven material - and securing them with a machine stitched line that draws the eye around and into the composition. With the support of a hidden frame, the work appears to float on the wall, casting small, intriguing shadows.
