Barbara Zaring, Heaven and Hell artist 2009, vintage 2006

Born and raised in Ohio, Barbara, as a small child, found she could communicate through drawing as well as she did with words. A life long artist, she found herself ever the student, graduating from DePauw University in Indiana and continuing to study various forms of art across the world, living in New York and Europe. As life moved her towards the west, the Rio Grande gorge drew her to a long, meditative life in Taos, New Mexico.

Highly acclaimed for her expressionist landscapes, she has moved in a dramatic departure from landscapes to nature based abstraction using both oil and chine collè monoprints. Exhibited widely in the USA, Barbara has also shown in Zagreb, Croatia at the United States Embassy and in Antigua Guatemala. The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK, the Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN, and the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, NM, plus the prestigious, Artist in Residence at the Yosemite National Park in California are but a few of her accomplishments.
When asked about her painting style, Barbara is modest, simple in description, an obvious student of Buddhism, "Very occasionally I will see a painting in my mind's eye or at times I will dream images, however, most of the time I just begin and follow the painting where it leads me." Perhaps it is her ability to  let the painting unfold naturally that creates such power in her work, but as you are consumed by the body of work, moving into the realm this deeply talented, well trained painter has created, you find out that there is much much more to it then sweeps of pretty paint over a canvas. "I am trying to hold within a painting two diverse qualities- one that is expansive, intricate and struggling and the other that is seeking balance and silence." This tug of war depicted in paint carries with it the power to inspire, to move you in an emotional way rarely felt by a modern day artist.

As a young artist she was fascinated by the Russian Wassily Kandinsky in his musical movement from representation to abstract work, which is what she herself did over 30 years. Henri Matisse with his bright colors and Robert Rauschenberg's use of unusual materials and overlaying have their place in her work as well. It is obvious that Barbara is still communicating great thoughts through her painting, letting the work speak for itself.

Fenix Gallery Taos, NM
www.FenixGallery.com

Total Arts Gallery Inc. Taos, NM
www.TotalArtsGallery.com

L/Ross Gallery, Memphis, TN
www.lrossgallery.com

www.barbarazaring.com