Exhibition Review: Tina Barney | The Beginning
Tina Barney. Waterslide in Fog, 1979, archival pigment print, 16 x 20 inches (sheet).
©Tina Barney. Courtesy Kasmin, New York.
Written and Photo Edited by Wenjie (Demi) Zhao
Copy Edited by Kee’nan Haggen
Red, yellow, blue. A trail of vibrant colors and rebellious youth form a winding path that leads you to Tina Barney’s latest solo exhibition at Kasmin Gallery, The Beginning. On view from March 2 to April 22, it will be the go-to exhibition to light up your mood in the cloudy days of New York as you celebrate International Women’s Day with the renowned female photographer Tina Barney.
“The photographs in this [exhibition] seem like X-rays of my mind.”
The works featured in The Beginning are from the artist’s long-forgotten 35mm negatives archive spanning the years from 1976 to 1981, tracing back to Barney’s artistic moment when she was still recording the beauty of everyday life with her Pentax point & shoot camera. The crisp and well-balanced images take you through four decades of time and space.
Photo taken at the Kasmin Gallery. Exhibition View of Tina Barney: The Beginning. On March 3, 2023.
Tina Barney was one of the pioneering artists to create large-scale color photographs. Her works transport the viewer to a variety of settings, from public spaces to intimate interiors. Swimming pools, golf courses, and cactus shop are just a few of the scenes that Barney captures with her personal and nuanced observer's gaze, making them palpably within reach. The turquoise ripples in the swimming pool and the undulating greens of the golf course’s rolling hills exist in a serene harmony. Simultaneously, the warm hues and gentle light from the red bricks and doors radiate a sense of coziness that illuminates the viewer’s heart. The natural expression and warmth of everyday life seamlessly flow and resonate off the page, evoking a sense of tranquil beauty that captivates the mind and soul.
Photo taken at the Kasmin Gallery. Exhibition View of Tina Barney: The Beginning. On March 3, 2023.
Informed by her love of Old Master paintings characterized by a strong sense of balance and harmony, Tina Barney is skilled at a central composition that creates the illusion of depth and dimensionality within her photographs. In works such as “The Lifeguard” and “The Art Gallery,” the central figure is placed center of the composition. Surrounded by symmetrical elements such as a rolling wave of teenagers heading to the pool, the juxtaposition contrasts with rectangular grids and fences or an enclosure formed by two paintings hanging on the wall.
Tina Barney. The Lifeguard, 1979, archival pigment print, 16 x 20 inches (sheet).
©Tina Barney. Courtesy Kasmin, New York.
Tina Barney. The Art Gallery, 1980, archival pigment print, 16 x 20 inches (sheet).
©Tina Barney. Courtesy Kasmin, New York.
The rhythms of the 1970s-80s photographs still swing sweetly to the present. Tina Barney’s early intuition for directing the eye through composition charts passages through ordinary domestic moments. Documentary realism's rich tonal subtleties and spontaneity characterize the unspoken psychological tensions and intimacies. Through the show and hide, organic forms versus artifacts, The Beginning is a curious reflection on the symbiosis between our minds and mundane lives.
To view more on this exhibition, visit Kasmin Gallery’s website.
