FAQ
Itziar Barrio
Biography
Itziar Barrio was born in 1976 in Bilbao, Spain and currently lives and works in New York City. She has been featured as a solo exhibitionist showcasing her mixed media work that combines animation, drawings, and installation at such venues as Tribes Gallery in New York 2007, Agenzia04 Gallery in Bologna Italy 2007, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in New York 2006, Jamete Gallery in Cuenca Spain 2006, Sala Libre Completo in Barcelona 2006, Catalogo General Gallery in Bilbao Spain 2005, Weekend Gallerie in Berlin 2003, and The Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin 2003.
Itziar Barrio has been the recipient of many grants, awards, and nominations including Visual Arts Grant 2007 by Basque Governament, AudioVisual Arts Grant 2007-2008 by the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia, Gure Artea 2006 Biannual Prize, Ertibil 2006, Artist in Residence 2006 at Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in New York, International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao (ZINEBI) 2006 and 2005, Visual Art Grant 2005 from the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia, Iberoamerican Videocreation Prize organized by the MUSAC and La Casa de America Madrid 2004, Fib-art 2004 International Festival of Benicassim, and an artist residency grant from the Bilbaoarte Foundation 2002.
Itziar Barrio has been involved in eight multimedia performance projects, which received support from major foundations and institutions. She has also collaborated with a number of individual artists as well as contemporary performance and dance companies, for which she has created video animation, scenery, and graphic design.
Itziar Barrio holds a Degree in Psychology from the Philosophy and Education Sciences Department at Deusto University in Bilbao. She has studied philosophy , art, animation, and film internationally at such institutions as 3rd Ward Studios New York, Observatorio Documentary Theory and Chritic Cinema School in Barcelona, Merlin Animacion in Bilbao, Montehermoso Cultural Center in Vitoria, Arteleku Art and Contemporary Culture Center in San Sebastian, BilbaoArte Foundation in Bilbao, and Shepperton Arts Center in London.
Itziar Barrio has been the recipient of many grants, awards, and nominations including Visual Arts Grant 2007 by Basque Governament, AudioVisual Arts Grant 2007-2008 by the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia, Gure Artea 2006 Biannual Prize, Ertibil 2006, Artist in Residence 2006 at Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in New York, International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao (ZINEBI) 2006 and 2005, Visual Art Grant 2005 from the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia, Iberoamerican Videocreation Prize organized by the MUSAC and La Casa de America Madrid 2004, Fib-art 2004 International Festival of Benicassim, and an artist residency grant from the Bilbaoarte Foundation 2002.
Itziar Barrio has been involved in eight multimedia performance projects, which received support from major foundations and institutions. She has also collaborated with a number of individual artists as well as contemporary performance and dance companies, for which she has created video animation, scenery, and graphic design.
Itziar Barrio holds a Degree in Psychology from the Philosophy and Education Sciences Department at Deusto University in Bilbao. She has studied philosophy , art, animation, and film internationally at such institutions as 3rd Ward Studios New York, Observatorio Documentary Theory and Chritic Cinema School in Barcelona, Merlin Animacion in Bilbao, Montehermoso Cultural Center in Vitoria, Arteleku Art and Contemporary Culture Center in San Sebastian, BilbaoArte Foundation in Bilbao, and Shepperton Arts Center in London.
Feminist Artist Statement
My own interest and motivation for creating art springs from a personal need to react to and interact with reality. I have come to the understanding that human reality is not completely visceral or absolute, but it is an intricate psychological and intellectual construction, ever being re-created.
When I choose an image, I take into consideration not only the conscious worlds associated with the image but also the subconscious, societal, and sensational associations. I approach the icon as a concept by maneuvering it through various abstract worlds and using many media, such as sculpture, painting, mural, and video animation.
The repetition and extension of my original icons into murals, animations, and drawings exemplifies the relationship that society has with everyday objects as recurring icons, whether those be practical objects embedded in our lives or abstract advertisement media creations. In this way I intend to bring up questions that are not overtly social or political, but that deal with the tendency of the human mind to create iconic and associative characters out of its surroundings and the effects of those associations on society.
When I choose an image, I take into consideration not only the conscious worlds associated with the image but also the subconscious, societal, and sensational associations. I approach the icon as a concept by maneuvering it through various abstract worlds and using many media, such as sculpture, painting, mural, and video animation.
The repetition and extension of my original icons into murals, animations, and drawings exemplifies the relationship that society has with everyday objects as recurring icons, whether those be practical objects embedded in our lives or abstract advertisement media creations. In this way I intend to bring up questions that are not overtly social or political, but that deal with the tendency of the human mind to create iconic and associative characters out of its surroundings and the effects of those associations on society.
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum