Barbara Fletcher’s creations from paper and 3D mixed media swim, crawl, and fly across the walls.
Fletcher sprays, shapes and sculpts clay, paper and other material into creatures and narrative scenes. She hand paints these, creating a colorful, personal vision of nature. With the environment in mind, she often incorporates recycled material, including scrap paper and found metals. One of her sculptures “Trash Mountain” which addresses serious topics: global warming, destruction of our oceans, and the trashing of the planet features a giant metal dragon descending from a mountain of trash.
Humor and an eclectic sensibility are hallmarks of her work. One of her earliest pieces, paper mache figures that opened to reveal surprises inside, was inspired by Russian nesting dolls and the British comedians Monte Python.
Her newest sculpture has grown in size and a number of works have been featured in temporary outdoor installations. The most recent coming up in May 2023 with the group Studios Without Walls along the Riverway in Brookline.
Fletcher received her BFA from Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts. She has also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, Mass College of Art, and Maine’s Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
Her work has won numerous awards and she is included in many collections around the country, including an installation in the home of famed writer Stephen King. Now living in Boston for over 25 years, her art has been shown in galleries and museums including The Duxbury Art Complex, The DeCordova Museum, The Danforth Museum and a one person show at The Children’s Museum.
Statement
I am a storyteller and an observer of nature and the nature of the human condition. Color, humor and animation are important aspects of my work. Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, Flemish art and Japanese woodblock prints were all early influences. Growing up on a farm as a child I played and fantasized in the large barns in the back of my house. Working with my hands I assembled special environments for myself and these became my living sculptures. Years later I became a sculptor of paper, creating environments on a larger scale.
My interest in depicting human nature and its foibles has never changed. However, the primary focus at this time is how man is destroying his environment.
All materials have limitations so my processes and materials have changed. Ever- evolving, I arrived at mixed media art, using clay, paper, metal and found objects. For a few years I focused on 2D paper works, reveling in the details by utilizing simple non-printing press techniques, digital art, painting and cut paper to bring my 2D art to life.
Five years ago I was offered a new art challenge and a new direction when a proposal for a temporary outdoor sculpture was accepted. Presently I am concentrating on larger sculptural works that focus on environmental concer
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