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 artist showcasing 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 Gallery in Berlin (2003), and The Kunsthaus Tacheles in Berlin (2003).
Itziar Barrio has been the recipient of many grants, awards and nominations, including a Visual Arts Grant from the Basque Government (2007), an Audio Visual Arts Grant from the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia (2007-08), The 2006 Gure Artea Biennial Prize, Ertibil 2006, Artist-in-Residence at Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in New York (2006), participation in ZINEBI, the Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film (2006 and 2005), a Visual Art Grant from the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia (2005), the 2004 Iberoamerican Videocreation Prize organized by MUSAC and La Casa de America Madrid, participation in the 2004 Fib-art International Festival of Benicassim, and an artist residency grant from the Bilbaoarte Foundation (2002).
Itziar Barrio has been involved in eight multimedia performance projects, all of 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 whom she has created video animation, scenery, and graphic design.
Itziar Barrio holds a Degree in Psychology from the Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences at Deusto University in Bilbao. She has studied philosophy, art, animation and film internationally at instutions such as 3rd Ward Studios in New York, Observatorio School of Documentary Theory and Critical Cinema 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 a Visual Arts Grant from the Basque Government (2007), an Audio Visual Arts Grant from the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia (2007-08), The 2006 Gure Artea Biennial Prize, Ertibil 2006, Artist-in-Residence at Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in New York (2006), participation in ZINEBI, the Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film (2006 and 2005), a Visual Art Grant from the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia (2005), the 2004 Iberoamerican Videocreation Prize organized by MUSAC and La Casa de America Madrid, participation in the 2004 Fib-art International Festival of Benicassim, and an artist residency grant from the Bilbaoarte Foundation (2002).
Itziar Barrio has been involved in eight multimedia performance projects, all of 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 whom she has created video animation, scenery, and graphic design.
Itziar Barrio holds a Degree in Psychology from the Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences at Deusto University in Bilbao. She has studied philosophy, art, animation and film internationally at instutions such as 3rd Ward Studios in New York, Observatorio School of Documentary Theory and Critical Cinema 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 is instead an intricate psychological and intellectual construction, constantly being re-created.
When I choose an image, I take into consideration not only the conscious worlds associated with the image but also its 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 exemplify the relationship that society has with everyday objects as recurring icons, whether they be practical objects embedded in our lives or abstract advertising 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 its 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 exemplify the relationship that society has with everyday objects as recurring icons, whether they be practical objects embedded in our lives or abstract advertising 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
