Jared Barbick

b. 1976, lives and works in Fresno.

“I want to create captivating images that draw the viewer in and provoke a feeling of wonderment about the natural world”

Jared Barbick’s highly detailed woodblock prints express a profound love of the natural world and a keen sense of observation of its plants and animals. He uses playful imagery and storytelling to address issues of conservation and preservation of the environment. Barbick works with a limited palette of black and white, creating striking images that draw the viewer in while conveying a powerful message. In Relocation of the Last Polar Bears & Escort (2019) Barbick imagines a fantastical scene where an old fashioned buggy, powered seemingly by dragonfly wings and flanked by orcas, pulls a large hot-air balloon basket containing the last polar bears across a rough ocean towards the unknown.

In a rare color risograph print, Harold Watches for Looming Danger (2019), a calf stands sentinel on the back of a manatee, the endangered, gentle sea mammals native to Florida that are threatened by multiple dangers, including the propellors and noise of speedboats and jetskis. In Beloved (2019) a baby fox is cradled - and dwarfed - in a pair of human hands. The message in these works is that both human and animal need one another, and we have a duty to care for our animal counterparts and the environment we share.

For more information about the artist or to purchase art work, please visit the artist’s website:
jmbart.org

 


BIOGRAPHY

Jared Barbick was educated at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and is self-taught. His work has been included in numerous group and solo exhibitions. In 2019, Barbick’s work was featured in the National Original Print Exhibition at the Royal Society of Paint and Printmakers (London, UK); the 37th Bradley International Print & Drawing Exhibition (Peoria, IL); and the Paper West Show (Salt Lake City, UT), among others. He frequently shows his work in the Fresno area, including at the Sorensen Studio’s Black and White Show (2019, hon. mention) and the Yosemite Western Artists Tri-County Juried Art Show (2017, best in show). Barbick is a teacher in the Selma Uni ed School District, and maintains his studio at the M Street Art Complex in downtown Fresno.


This exhibition is presented by the Fresno Yosemite International Airport Arts & Culture program, which aims to welcome travelers to the Central Valley and showcase original works by artists who call this vibrant and diverse region home.