Barry Katz creates pieces that allude to the artist looking into a mirror. And in particular, one which reflects inner states. Not a mirror that flatters, far from, but one that tells inescapable truths.
These works are not content to hang quietly on the wall. They are objects that stand out from the wall, float in front of it, demand attention. Employing non-traditional form and unexpected color. They beckon, reaches out and grab you.
Using accretion to simultaneously build up texture and layer creates a more complex experience, one that reveals itself more slowly. It takes time to decipher the layers of buried, partially concealed, partially exposed color, just as getting to know a complex individual, or exploring the layered depths of one’s own psyche might. It also carries the suggestion of something hidden, though imperfectly obscured, just beneath the surface.
Katz is fascinated with the emotional impact of color, and the ways form can alter or amplify its affect. Another important feature is the works’ refusal to hang straight and level, in its awkwardness, in its imperfect, misshapen, hand-made lumpiness, in its overall oddness. This irregularity mirrors the Artist’s own struggles and self-reflection.
