Brian Barr

Brian Barr is an artist and independent curator based in Richmond, VA where he is an Assistant Professor of Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his MFA from American University and his BFA from The College for Creative Studies. Barr has been awarded fellowships at the MacDowell Colony, the Kala Art Institute as well as a residency at the Luminary Center for the Arts in St. Louis. Barr regularly collaborates with his wife, artist Lauren Rice. They have presented collaborative projects at Vox Populi in Philadelphia (PA), Flashpoint Gallery in Washington (DC), Purdue University, Current Space in Baltimore (MD), the Neon Heater in Findlay (OH), and the Artist Alliance Inc.’s, Cuchifritos Gallery and Project Space in New York (NY), and Alabama Contemporary (AL). Barr has had solo exhibitions at Popps Packing in Detroit, Skylab in Columbus (OH), and the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (VA). His work was featured in New American Paintings no. 95. Barr was the founder of PASSENGER, an exhibition space in Detroit where he was Director and Curator from 2012-2014. He has curated exhibitions at PASSENGER, ORG Gallery in Detroit, Purdue University, The Museum of New Art Detroit, Delicious Spectacle Gallery (DC), and the Katzen Art Center Museum (DC).

Brian Barr explores the relationship between function, meaning, and aesthetics through imagery and objects. By presenting large-scale imagery as found objects and installing them on a framework of pipe, drywall, and metal studs, Barr creates a dialogue between the works and their surroundings. This setup allows the images to interact with one another and disrupt the exhibition space itself. Viewers encounter these images without their original context, prompting them to engage in two ways: they can search for meaning in this new environment or focus on the aesthetic qualities of the images. Either approach involves a certain loss of understanding, yet viewers may shift between the two, experiencing the tension between communication and aesthetics. Barr is interested in this in-between space—where meaning is unstable and new fictions can emerge.