BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
My artwork reflects a life-long preoccupation with the “stitch” – from early childhood hand embroidery to a current fascination with the machine stitch as a sculptural element used to create complex textures and forms.

My parents and grandparents were artists, and my mom and dad’s love of painting fused with my love of fabrics early on, so that, at times, it seemed only natural to stitch what I had painted. I am especially intrigued with the richness of color and magnification of patterns in nature and have a curiosity in finding ways to convey this through my fiber art.

My interest in fiber techniques has changed and evolved as my art developed since I first began exhibiting in juried shows in 1974. It has been a process of building upon previous experiences and works to expand and develop new ways of creating. Over the years I have exhibited paintings, batiks, shibori, fabric collages, art quilts and embroidered dimensional pieces.

The use of layers has been a reoccurring theme: layers of thread, of bits of fabric, of painted surfaces, and most recently, layers of translucency. What layers reveal/conceal through collage techniques, machine stitching and fabric manipulation is a current direction.

Teaching fabric painting workshops fulfills my desire to “pass on” a love of painting and fabrics by conveying to others a joyful, expressive journey exploring nature’s wealth of patterns and textures.

Memberships include the Surface Design Association, Fibre Design Forum, and the Buffalo Society of Artists. In addition to numerous national and international exhibitions, my work is represented in public and private collections in the US and Canada, as well as in China, South Korea, The Philippines, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and India.

BARBARA MURAK
Getzville, NY
SELECTED JURIED AND INVITATIONAL SHOWS

60th Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY 7/05-9/05.

Buffalo Society of Artists 109th Catalog Exhibit, Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY 9/05-10/05.

Constants & Variables, SDA Members Exhibition, 13th International Surface Design Conference, Kansas City, MO, 6/05.

The Quiltfestival Hori 2005 (ARTQUILTART: Invitational Exhibition), Hori am Bodensee, Lake Constance, Germany, 5/05.

Miniature Art Textiles: Second International Invitational Exhibition, Ocean County Artists' Guild, Island Heights, NJ, 3/05.

Craft Art Western New York 2004, Burchfield-Penney Art Center, State University College of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 10/04-1/05.

ARTQUILTART: An International Invitational Exhibition by Artists Who Work in Fiber, The University Museum, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, 9/04-1/05.

Primary Colors: A Survey of Contemporary Craft in Red, Yellow & Blue, Artisans Center of Virginia, Waynesboro, VA, 5/04-7/04.

The Quilted Surface II: International Contemporary Art Quilts, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH, 5/04-7/04.

Crafts National 37, Zoller Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 6/03-7/03.

80th Annual Spring Show, Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA, 4/03-6/03.

The Quilted Surface: International Contemporary Art Quilts, Palais Rastede, Oldenburg, Germany, 9/02-10/02.

The Quilted Surface: International Contemporary Art Quilts, The Columbus Museum of Art, 5/02-6/02.

Matter: The Material of Contemporary Fine Art & Craft, Chautauqua Center for the Visual Arts, Chautauqua, NY, 8/01-9/01.



© 2004 - Barbara Murak
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