Capturing The Cultural Zeitgeist: The Expressive Art of Barrie Baker
By Paul McGuirk
Travelling the world and having work displayed throughout the country is a dream-come-true for many, but one Cumbrian artist is ready to return to his roots with a brand-new gallery residency just a stone’s throw away from where he spent his formative years.
In many of his works, Barrie Baker takes inspiration from stormy seascapes. It’s therefore somewhat fitting that the self-taught musician and artist has found a new home for his creativity on a Cumbrian coastline famed for its tumultuous tidal climate.
Combining an obsession with colour, mood, and spirit with a larger-than-life vibrancy that takes cues from Cubism, surrealism and Pop Art, Barrie creates acrylic-based paintings which impress and intrigue audiences in equal measure. Some of Barrie’s works are on extra-large sprawling canvases measuring up to 50 x 40 inches, although the self-taught artist is more than comfortable working across a variety of scopes and mediums.
Painting has been a cornerstone of Barrie’s life from an early age – he received his first set of materials at the age of eight – and since then the Carlisle-born creative has gone on to win commissions from clients across the length and breadth of the country. Originals and prints of his work sought after by collectors and art lovers in London, Manchester, Leeds and beyond.
Despite interest in his paintings taking him all over the UK, Barrie’s heart remains rooted in his home county, where he has recently taken over the popular Tidal Reach Gallery on Senhouse Street, Maryport. It is here where he exhibits his latest pieces, many of which are created in a workshop at the back of the premises.
Barrie explained: “I have always wanted to have my own workspace, and the Tidal Reach Gallery has always been good to me in the past.”
Barrie certainly has a talent for abstract seascapes and there’s no shortage of inspiration in West Cumbria. However, he also draws on his experiences of living and working in the melting pot of multicultural London, combined with trips to Ghana, in a series of paintings which capture the vibrancy of the carnival atmosphere visitors can expect to soak up during a visit to either of these unique cultural hubs.
Rhythm and dance inform the expressive markings and energetic palette choices used in many of these artworks. The ability for his canvases to instantly light up the room and bring the festival atmosphere to a space is testament to Barrie’s skill at capturing the sights, sounds and smells of the carnival in a series of paintings which elicit a sense of synaesthesia in the viewer; all tribal drums and whistles among vibrant colours and brushstrokes.
Of course this ability to bring melody to the canvas comes as second nature to Barrie, he is, after all, an accomplished musician in his own right. Having previously performed in Carlisle bands like Red Spider and Stealer, the multi-instrumentalist even played saxophone at the launch of the new-look Tidal Reach Gallery in November.
His passion for music is evident in his portrait work, with a large section of his exhibition dedicated to musicians, from the ones he idolised as a youngster in the 1970’s right up to the stars of today.
Currently on display is an assortment of intricately crafted portraits which capture the hearts, minds and souls of the icons of rock, pop and soul including Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Madonna, Amy Winehouse and The Cure’s Robert Smith. An eclectic choice of artists brought to canvas by a multi-talented creative powerhouse.
Barry’s eye for detail and penchant for utilising expressive colour come together to capture the aura of some of the most iconic musicians of all time, and the results truly must be seen to be believed.
Barry Baker is available for commissions. Prints and original canvases are available from the Tidal Reach Gallery, 45 Senhouse Street, Maryport. Examples of Barry’s work can also be perused at http://www.bbakerart.co.uk.
Images taken by Jan Fialkowski
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Barry, my Amy Winehouse print purchased in Keswick market on saturday 29 june now hangs splendidly in my music room. Thank you. You have a great eye for capturing character. Best wishes. Bob Woolfall.
Hi Barrie, you once told me you were thinking of doing a print of Robert Plant. Did you ever?