The Chelsea Perspective - ARTisSpectrum

Barbanakova
The human condition and its surrounding environs, from the deeply
spiritual connections between people to the profoundly simple objects
of everyday life, are the inspiration for painter Ta Barbanakova.
Her awareness and attention to the smallest nuances in her day-to-day
ventures provide her with the matter upon which her paintings are
founded. “A Stroll” is an example of how observing someone in their
daily routine may provoke a connection between the artist and her
subject. The decadent use of color and paint in this work dazzle the eye
while the subject, a woman walking her dog through the park, subdues
the soul and offer her audience a simple slice-of-life.
Barbanakova’s style is supremely painterly, objects emerge
from the heavy strokes as impressions. The details are in the feelings
evoked from the scene. The woman walks with a serene expression
as her dog ambles forward sniffing the air. Foliage encroaches gently
upon the figure; the caress of nature is a blessing of the simple
life. “My paintings are my thoughts,” she explains, “my childhood
memories that are calling me back, new experiences and my dreams
that drive me forward.”
Barbanakova, in her search to portray the human condition,
has explored the use of metaphor and personification. “In Full Sail” is
highly successful work, painted with her signature impasto technique,
relating the excitement and wonder of embarking upon life’s journey.
In this piece the ocean is the device used to evoke a passage or voyage,
and floating amongst the waves is a colorful house placed in a
sailboat. The image is teeming with joy and excitement as the unruly
waters reflect the brilliant hues
of the early morning sky and
the windows of the house radiate
the warm glow from within.
Typical of her works, “In Full
Sail” suggests a number of different
readings; here the idea
and location of home is not
sedentary but portable. Poi -
gnantly left out of the work is
a beginning or an end, suggesting
that upon this voyage, as in
life, there is no destination but
only the journey.
Barbanakova was
born in Krasnodar, Russia in
1975. She earned her MFA
at the Kuban State University
and has focused on her career
as an artist since 1997. She
has exhibited widely throughout
Germany and Russia, and
continues to gain recognition,
recently acquiring representation
in the United States. Ta
Barbanakova lives and works
in Voronezh, Russia.
www.colordiary.com
Ta
A Stroll 28” x 30” Oil on Canvas
In Full Sail 20” x 24” Oil on Canvas
39 ARTisSpectrum