Barbara Rogers– Artist Statement

Much of contemporary art practice has avoided outright beauty. I want to remain vulnerable to beauty. I want to be stopped in my tracks by something I call beautiful that I have never noticed or seen before.

Through my paintings, I am reclaiming a space for beauty, in the midst of everyday life. I seek to create a place of respite, reflection, and contemplation.

Botanical forms appear in my work because they enable me to find a variety of more interesting forms, ideas, and structures than I could dream up by myself. I look for ideas in nature that conform to the painting ideas I have developed from years of painting and teaching. Still, I don’t place too much value on subject matter. My lack of involvement with it enables me to concentrate on the painting.

My painting ideas come as much from art, travel and studying diverse cultures as from nature. I often look at the images of Matisse, Bosch, Hans Hofmann, Mondrian and the gorgeous embellishments on the wood and stones in Indian and Asian architecture. I feel a deep connection with the ornaments of every culture. I can see the connection between the botanical forms in any location in the world and the ornamental shapes and colours developed over centuries by the members of the groups of people who have stayed in that region. Making something ornamental and beautiful is a necessary act of ritual for many people in the world. This act, in and of itself, has function and meaning. Through my paintings, I am reclaiming a space for beauty in the midst of everyday life; I seek to create a place of respite, reflection, and contemplation

My paintings are abstract in the sense that they depart from representational accuracy. I often select and then exaggerate or simplify botanical forms that are suggested in the world around me especially in my own garden in Tucson, Arizona.

The most recent combined encaustic and oil paintings continue my exploration of those emblems of the microcosm that I invent or discover. I still try to investigate various systems of order versus what at first appears to be nature’s chaos. My working process on these current paintings involves continual changes in texture, form, and color that develop during each studio work session until the piece is realized, insisting on its own eccentric presence in the world.

Every painting I begin makes its own demands. The wonder of this dialogue with paint, color, form and space is what keeps me excited about working.

Resume

Education

Exhibitions

Selected Reviews and Articles

• Java Magazine, March 2011, Scott Andrews, Samsara
• Tucson Lifestyle, Home and Garden, March 2010, Duncan Tweedy, A Living Palette
• Arizona Daily Star, April 19, 2009, Christina Licata, Roaming Rogers Simply Must Create
• Tucson Lifestyle, Home & Garden, March 2009, Duncan Tweedy, Apocalypse Wow!
• Tucson Weekly, April 2009, Margaret Regan, Gems Among the Schlock
• Arizona Daily Star, Foothills Section, November 22, 2007, Jill Torance
• Alumnus, The University of Arizona, Summer 2007, Sarah Beaudry, She’s Got Soul—The Heart and Soul of an Artist and Teacher
• Southwest Art, May 2007, Gardens of the Imagination, Barbara Rogers’ Micro Landscapes Combine the Beauty and Drama of the Natural World, Virginia Campbell, Beauties of the Night used on the cover
• AZ Daily Star, April 2006, Ernesto Portillo Jr., 19 Tucsonans who aided feminists
• Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975, 2006, Barbara J. Love, Biographical entry in this directory of leaders in the second wave women’s movement
• Arizona Daily Wildcat, November 29, 2005, Laura Ory, Art Prof visits Middle East
• Southwest Art, January 2004, Bonnie Gangelhoff, A Contemporary Eye, Six Painters Captivate Viewers With Their Fresh and Sometimes Unusual Eye
• ARTLIFE, Fall/Winter, 2003-2004, Kirsten Anderson, Barbara Rogers: The Garden As Metaphor, cover
• Tales of Yellow Skin: The Art of Long Nguyen, 2003, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA, catalogue essay, Joanne Northrup
• THE, Santa Fe’s Monthly Magazine of The Arts, October 2003, Jan Ernst Adlmann, Barbara Rogers: New Work
• The New Mexican, El Pasatiempo, September 5, 2003, Paul Weideman, Detritus By Design
• KUAT, Arizona Illustrated, August 13, 2002, Sooyeon Lee, Creation, Destruction and Rebirth: The Art of Barbara Rogers
• Tucson Home, Spring 2003, Charlotte Lowe-Bailey, Three of A Kind
• Shade Magazine, December 2002, The Meaty Issue: Barbara Rogers: Project Paradise, Kimberly Van Syoc
• Jacksonville Times-Union, November 9, 2001, Ivette M. Yee, Forget What You Know About Flowers: Four artists interpret plant life in exhibit
• Tucson Museum of Art Publication, November 17, 2001, Barbara Rogers: Natural Facts/Unnatural Acts, Julie Sasse, curator, essay
• Artscope.net, April 20, 2001 Richard Donagrandi, Barbara Rogers: Garden of Feminine Reason at Oskar Freidl
• Phoenix New Times, November 23, 2000, Joshua Rose, “Cutting Hedge: “Gardens As Theatre” artist Barbara Rogers doesn’t rest on laurels in latest exhibition”
• Arizona Daily Star, November 24, 2000, Charlotte Lowe-Bailey, “Beauty of Paintings is What Viewers Take From Exhibit”
• ArtScope.net, October 26,2000, G. Jurek Polanski, “The Buddha Show: 25 Artists Interpret Buddha”, online review
• The Arizona Republic, April 13, 2000, Richard Nilsen A Garden’s Whisper: Paintings speak softly of nature’s demise
• Scottsdale Tribune, April 6, 2000, Betty Webb, “Tucson Artist Paints Garden of Earthly Delights”
• KUAT, Arizona Illustrated, March, 2000, Leslie Epperson, “Barbara Rogers: Dreaming of Eden”
• The Arizona Daily Star, February 1999, Pamela Portwood, “Beginnings of Life Permeate Barbara Rogers’ Works”
• Foothills Today, 1998, Tucson Citizen, pp.113-5, 1998-99 Edition
• New American Paintings 1997, The Open Studios Press, Wellesley, MA
• Worlds in Collision: Dialogues on Multicultural Art Issues, 1995, International Scholars Publications, Carlos Villa, Project Director
• Encyclopedia of Women Artists, 1995, 2 Volumes, Garland Press
• Women in Art, 1992 Calendar, Pomegranate Artbooks
• 30 Women Contemporary Artists, 1990, Pomegranate Artbooks
• California Artists Calendar, 1990, California International Arts Foundation
• Art in the San Francisco Bay Area 1945-1980, 1985, Thomas Albright, University of California Press
• Who’s Who in American Art, 1976 through current year, 12th Edition, Jacques Cattell Press, Tempe, AZ
• Fort Collins, Coloradoan, June, 1996, Chryss Cada, “Artist’s Eye for Eden”
• Artweek, August 1995, Clarissa J. Welsh, Preview: Barbara Rogers at Frederick Spratt Gallery
• Arizona Illustrated, August 1994, Michael Boyle, Interview, Tucson, AZ
• Tucson Weekly, September 1994, Margaret Regan, “Media Mix”
• Tucson Citizen, August 1994, Charlotte Lowe, “Shaped By a Storm”
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 1994, Joan Altabe, “Gardens of Heavenly Delight on Display at Selby Museum”
• Art Papers, July 1993, Laurence Holden, “Barbara Rogers, Recent Work”
• General-Anzeiger, January 1992, Angelika Storm-Rushe, “Reverence for the Water”
• National Public Television, December 1991, Interview, “European Journal”
• KUAT-TV, 1990, Interview, Michael Boyle, “Arizona Illustrated”
• Artweek, June 1989, Terri Cohn, “Looking at the Land”
• The Stockton Record, March 1987, Margo Ernst, “Barbara Rogers: A Retrospective”
• Fresno Bee, December 1986, David Hale, “Liberating Pre-Feminist Pre-Conceptions”
• The Art of the Dot: Advanced Airbrush Techniques, 1985, Robert Paschal and Robert Anderson, Van Nostrant Reinhold & Co., New York
• New Horizons, 1982, Calendar, Pomegranate Press, Corte Madera, CA
• Airbrush Digest, July/August 1982, William Urban, “Barbara Rogers, An Interview”
• Oakland Tribune, February 1982, Charles Shere, “An Impressive Show of Airbrush Painting
• San Jose Mercury News, February 1982, Doroth Burkhart
• Pittsburg Post Gazette,October 1981, Donald Miller
• Palo Alto Times, April 1978, Joanne Dickson
• Pittsburg Post Gazette, November 1978, Donald Miller, “New Exotic Realism at the Berger Gallery”
• Art Voices/South, January/February 1978, p. 36, H. J. Weeks, Florida
• Art in America, March-April 1978,p.142, Knute Stiles, Barbara Rogers at Hansen Fuller
• Oakland Tribune, November 6, 1977, p. 17, Charles Shere, “Three Solutions to the Same Painterly Problems”
• Oakland Tribune, August 1977, Charles Shere, “When a Painter Assembles Exhibit, Expect the Unusual”
• San Francisco Chronicle, September 25, 1976, Thomas Albright, “Photographs Get to the Spirit of Art”
• Seattle Times, May 25, 1976, Deloris Tarzan
• The Art Gallery Magazine, February 1975, Tom Albright, Myth Makers
• Arts Magazine, April 1975, Barbara Rogers, First One Artist Show in New York
• Artweek, September 6, 1975, p. 5, R.F. Stephan, “Six Bay Area Artists”
• Oakland Tribune, August 10, 1975, p. 43, Charles Shere,“Six Artists Playing Games with Eyes and Mind”
• Seattle Times, November 1975, Deloris Tarzan, Artists’ women show more face, less figure
• Artweek, November 29, 1975, Regina Hackett, “Woman’s Many Facets”
• San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 1975, p. 43, Thomas Albright, “Painting with No Dominant School”
• Berkeley Gazette, July 18, 1975
• Art Gallery Magazine, February 1975, p. 44, Thomas Albright, “Mythmakers”
• Arts Magazine, May 1975, p. 14, Ellen Lubell
• The New York Times, July 14, 1974, p. 19, Hilton Kramer, “New Art of the 70’s in Chicago” includes image of “ Renee With An Indian Prince”
• The Herald, June 19, 1974, John Forwalter, Chicago
• Artweek, October 6, 1973, Robert McDonald, “Rogers Tropic Fancies”
• Oakland Tribune, October 2, 1973, p. 39, Charles Shere, “Women’s Shows Booming, But No Exploitation Here”
• Los Angeles Times, January 1973, Helen Winer, “American Realist Painting at Santa Barbara Museum of Art”
• The Soho Weekly News, February 27, 1973, John Gruen, New York City, On Art: The Non-Objective Vision”
• Art News, November 1973, p. 63, Jerome Tarshis, “Managing Conflicting Pressures”
• San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 1973, p. 41, Thomas Albright, “Bay Area Myth Makers”
• Minneapolis Tribune, May 14, 1972, p.80, Mike Steele
• Artforum, January 1970, p. 80, P.D. French
• San Francisco Chronicle, November 6, 1969, Alfred Frankenstein
• KQED, November 1969, , Charles Shere, National Public Television, San Francisco affiliate
• Artforum, Summer 1968, pp. 62-63, P.D. French

Selected Collections

• The Center for Neurosciences, Tucson, AZ
• Arizona State University Museum of Art, Tempe, AZ
• Bank of America, San Francisco, CA
• Crocker Museum, Sacramento, CA
• Evergreen College, WA
• Kaiser Permanente Hospitals, CA
• Mills College, Oakland, CA
• Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
• Prudential Insurance Company, CA
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
• Duke Power and Energy, Houston, TX
• San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
• Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
• University of Arizona, College of Nursing, Tucson, AZ
• University of Arizona, Bioscience Research Building (Bio5), Tucson, AZ
• University of California, Berkeley, CA
• Esteé Lauder Foundation, New York, NY
• Frick Art Museum, University of Pittsburgh

Selected Commissions

• 2010 Allure of the Seas,Adagio Dining Room, Main mural 320.5” x 211’ and sixteen 51’ x 122.5”, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
• 2007 Hotel Monaco, Alexandria, VA
• 2006 BIO5 Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
• 2005 Ritz Carlton Huntington, Los Angeles, CA
• 2004 Dawson Rose Design Associates, Tucson, AZ
• 2000 Pointe South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ
• 2000 Hollywood Casino, Shreveport, LA
• 2000 Italian Sea Princess, Princess Cruises, Boca Raton, FL
• 2000 Anthem Country Club, Henderson, NV
• 2000 Pointe South Mountain Resort, Phoenix,AZ
• 2000 Lucayan Resort, Bahamas
• 2000 Ritz Carlton, Washington D.C.
• 1999 Italian Sea Princess, Boca Raton, FL
• 1999 Sheraton Hotel, Boston, MA
• 1999, Christy Martin, Interior Designer, Tucson,AZ and Santa Barbara,CA
• 1999 Inverness Hotel, Denver, CO
• 1998 (Westin) Hotel Pasadena, Pasadena, CA
  
• 1998 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas

Awards and Grants

• 2010 Nominated for Governor’s Arts Awards, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Phoenix, AZ
• 2009 Nominated for Arizona Arts Awards, Community Foundation, Tucson, AZ
• 2007 Dean’s Award for Creative Achievement, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona
• 2004 University of Arizona Alumni Association, Extraordinary Faculty Award
• 2003 Sabbatical Leave from the University of Arizona for academic year 2004
• 2002 Beyond The Call of Duty Award, Dean’s Fund for Excellence, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona
• 1999 Richard Florsheim Art Fund Grant
• 1996 Recipient of the Advising /Mentoring Award for the College of Fine Art, University of Arizona
  Nominated by the Faculty of Fine Arts to receive the University of Arizona Distinguished Professorship
• 1992-93 Fine Arts Summer Research Grant, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
• 1991 International Travel Grant, Office of International Programs, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
• 1991 Research Grant, Office of Vice President for Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
• 1991 Professional Development Grant, Arizona Commission on the Arts
• 1989-90 Sabbatical leave from San Francisco Art Institute
• 1963 Eisner Prize in Painting, University of California

Visiting Artist

• 2009 University of Kansas, Department of Art, Lawrence, KS
• 2008 University of Kansas, Department of Art Lawrence, KS
• 2005 University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
• 2005 Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• 2004 Pusan National University, Pusan, South Korea
• 2001 Colby College, Waterville, Maine
  Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine
• 1999 JFK University, Berkeley,CA
  Mills College, Oakland, CA
• 1998 Ohio State University, Columbus,OH
• 1997 University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
• 1995 Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
• 1993 Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
• 1991 Printmaking Department, San Jose University, San Jose, CA
• 1990 University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
• 1989 Cooper Union, New York, NY
• 1982 University of Washington, Seattle, WA
  Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN
• 1980 University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• 1976 San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

Academic Positions

• 2007+ Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona, School of Art, since 2008
• 1992-2007 Professor, University of Arizona, School of Art, Painting and Drawing (since 1990)
• 1991-92 Professor, University of Arizona, Department of Art, Graduate Coordinator
• 1990-91 Professor, University of Arizona, Department of Art, Faculty Assistant to Department Head
• 1987-90 Professor, San Francisco Art Institute, Department of Painting, Chair of Graduate Program in Painting, Sculpture, and Ceramics
• 1983-87 Professor, Chair, Department of Painting, San Francisco Art Institute
• 1978-83 San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
• 1977-78 Contra Costa College, El Sobrante, CA
• 1975 Visiting Faculty, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• 1974 Visiting Faculty, San Francisco Art Institute
• 1972-73 Visiting Faculty, University of California, Berkeley, CA
• 1965-68 Associate Faculty, University of California, Berkeley, CA
• 1964 Assistant Director, Art Education Program, Northport Public Schools, NY