Ali Barker: Music-Colour-Paint
Arena Grounded Gallery
Arena Studios and Gallery, 27 Parliament Street, Liverpool L8 5RN
31 July – 12 September 2021
Music-Colour-Paint is an exhibition of Ali Barker’s abstract paintings expressing music in colour, accompanied by a residency in the Arena Grounded Gallery.
Throughout August, Ali will create a series of new works responding to pieces of music she listens to in the gallery – music played in the neighbouring Baltic Social as well as of her own choice. The exhibition will evolve as these small works on paper are added to the display, building up to create an additional body of work within the exhibition.
Initially, the residency will take place remotely – Ali will visit the gallery weekly to add new works made.
Towards the end of the exhibition period, visitors will be able to see Ali working in the gallery space and talk to her about her work during the following ‘Meet the artist’ days:
Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 August
Saturday 28, Sunday 29 and Monday 30 August.
Or pop in to the Private View on Thursday 2 September from 6-9pm.
(Please check social media for any last-minute changes to these arrangements. Arena Grounded Gallery is accessed via the Baltic Social.)
Ali Barker’s work expresses music and sound in colour. She works with a fixed palette of twelve colours to represent the colours she perceives through her experiences of the phenomenon of sound-colour synaesthesia – when listening to music, she perceives each note of the musical scale as a specific colour. She is inspired and motivated by these experiences, drawing upon them and her musical background (she plays the violin and the viola) to create abstract paintings and mixed media works. Starting from the written music and her perceptions whilst listening to specific pieces, or working from sound recordings she has analysed, her translational processes develop excerpts into colourful paintings, ranging from geometric patterns to gestural works.
Ali Barker’s work has been exhibited across the Northwest, including a solo show at dot-art, Liverpool in 2016, a 2-person show at Liverpool Cathedral in 2020 and in various group shows. Ali won the Student Prize at the Lancashire Open Exhibition 2018, held at Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk, and she designed the public artwork skyline murals that are permanently displayed on the panels in the Birkenhead Tunnel. Ali completed her MA in Fine Art (Distinction) at the University of Chester in 2019.
For more information during the exhibition and residency:
Instagram @alibarkerart @arenastudiosliverpool #musiccolourpaint
Facebook @alibarkerart @arenastudiosgallery
alibarker.com
info@alibarker.com