My art is inextricably tied to science. I have a BSc in Anatomy & Cell Biology that predates my BFA. I left the world of science because I was interested not only in what the body looks like or how it works – I wanted to find out more about what makes us who we are. What does the experience of living in a body feel like? My art has always been about the physical, textural and emotional substance of the body. It is both corporeal and ethereal. I use an abstract, saturated, textural, modern, micro- turned macroscopic, mixed media language to convey the human condition. Drawing from the all-encompassing hues of Colour Field paintings, the reckless abandon of Abstract Expressionism, the fundamental form of Minimalism and the non-objective feeling of Suprematism, I am constantly engaged in an inquiry of what Jonah Lehrer, author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist, calls “the feeling of feeling.” With a unique mixture of a cold beeswax paste, and/or various items and parts, I build my art through a tactile process that is worked from the ground out, into three-dimensional space. The resulting tension between beauty and the grotesque creates a visceral reaction in the viewer.
Heidi was born in Montreal, Canada in 1971. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and Cell Biology from McGill University in 1995, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction in Studio Arts from Concordia University in 1999. Her first solo exhibition was held at Galerie SAS in 2002, followed by Galerie Simon Blais in 2003, NEST gallery in 2005, and Visual Voice Gallery in 2008. She has participated in several important group shows in Montreal and Toronto during her professional career. Her work can be found in many private and corporate collections, most notably the The Senvest Collection, Banque Nationale du Canada, and the Avmor Collection. Heidi Barkun is represented by Soho Myriad Art Consultants in Los Angeles and Atlanta, USA. She currently lives and works in Montreal.
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