Gav Barbey Biography
Born 1969
Gav Barbey is a multi-disciplinary Australian artist combining a large variety of media into a unique artistic practice. He is best known for his large dynamic paintings of birds native to Australia, as well as his Ice Works. The performative element plays a big role in his work, as Barbey works by pouring, dripping, and throwing paint, or letting it melt straight on the canvas. Biography Gav Barbey is an Australian contemporary artist based in Melbourne. He spent most of his childhood years surrounded by nature in a modest backyard in Springvale North and later in the neighbouring suburb of Mulgrave, built upon farming paddocks. He spent most of his free time in the rural beach community on Phillip Island - his mother’s birthplace, famous for its fairy penguins, koalas and motorbike racing. Barbey’s art journey started at a slightly different angle than most artists. At first, he built a successful design career, practising graphic design, scriptwriting, directing, set and costume design, working across design studios, theatre, television, film, and exhibitions. In 1998 he wrote and directed his first short film ‘Burnout’, a finalist at Trop Fest, and received the FTO’s Young Film Makers grant to complete it. He has written, directed, and designed 10 films since then. In 1999 he held his first solo exhibition in an effort to gather his substantial experience in multiple fields and bring it all together in one. The result is his ‘Ice Works’, which he creates by freezing containers of paint and then letting them gradually melt on the canvas. The theatrical process of his visual practice utilizes the medium of design, story-telling, theatre, performance, film and visual art and amalgamizes them into a body of work which can both sit in a gallery, on stage, or even be viewed on the screen. Apart from ‘Ice Works’, Gav Barbey paints large dynamic images of birds and other animals native to Australia. In these paintings he combines extremely detailed depictions of the subjects with abstract drips and splashes of paint, completing the trajectories of their movement. At present, Barbey continues to exhibit his works internationally and locally. On top of that, he has a strong social media presence, where he shares his artistic journey with a strong community of loyal followers. Technique and Style Unlike many artists, Gav Barbey’s artistic practice is far from solitary. He often invites the public to watch him paint, whether it is in real life, or via social media. The performative element plays a big role in Barbey’s work. In a way, he could be likened to the likes of Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, or other action painters. However, in Barbey’s case, the paintings are not always quick and primal, but often take hours, days, or weeks to naturally come to life, just like it is with his ‘Ice Works’. The pre-mixed colours are gently manipulated by the artist as they melt, merge, and create shapes from topographical landscapes to semi-organic figurative expressions. Barbey’s Ice works explore the discourse between nature and our desire to have control over it. He plays with the idea of free form and abandonment. In a way, the Ice Works are like continuous meditation, an effort to touch the observer deep in the subconscious mind, and tapping into the collective sense of an archetypal visual language, with the common denominator being letting go. While the Ice Works are a signature part of Barbey’s work, they are a departure from his acclaimed figurative works, depicting birds native to Australia. He documents them partially realistically, painting their heads and torsos in great detail. Then, he allows them to take flight by throwing, pouring, or dripping paint straight on the canvas, creating their wings and tails. The vibrant abstract lines spiral up and down, overlap, bleed into each other until the birds look like they are ready to fly out of the canvas. Barbey manages to capture the unrestrained energy of a bird by exaggerating their movement on large-scale canvases, which make the encounters with his birds truly breathtaking. His colourful drips remind the viewer of a chef dressing a plate before serving it, or even the effortless strokes of a calligraphy brush. Nonetheless, they exude a sense of continuous flow and exuberance. The artist has a deep appreciation for nature, to which he feels spiritually connected. All of his works are a true celebration of this connection, a celebration of life, spontaneity, and boundless energy. Why Collect? Gav Barbey’s multidisciplinary approach to art offers a fresh perspective that stands out from the rest. His joyful works are not only decorative but involve a strong narrative, present throughout the artist’s whole body of work. Barbey surprises with unbound spontaneity, freedom and inherent spirituality that translates clearly into his stunning paintings.
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