Welcome
Antonia Barolini
In Ways of Seeing John Berger makes a comparison between the nude, as depicted in traditional European art works, to nakedness as in being wholly oneself in the most absolute form. I am particularly interested in this concept and I try to push myself to make portraits that reveal the inner traits of a person rather than just what they physically look like. Currently I am experimenting with less representational detail in favor of suggestions done with color, light and shadow. As I continue to evolve as a painter I hope to explore more figurative abstraction in my portraits. Additionally, I feel that art is meant to be social and public, and should be available to all, but often it is disconnected from people’s lives and considered elitist. Therefore, in the future I would also like to explore narrative themes of social inequality that might speak to people who feel disconnected from art.
I have been exposed to art making since childhood due to the fact that my mother is an artist (nicolettabarolini.com). We always had, paints, paper and clay available in the house and my sister and I experimented with them freely and frequently. Therefore, I never stopped making art or thought of myself as anything else but an artist. My art practice has been further nurtured by Professor Randy Williams (http://randywilliams.net/). He has been my mentor since high school when I first studied under him at the New York State Summer School of the Arts. Then all through my four years at Bard College I studied with painter Joe Santore (www.josephsantore.com).