Katie Barron is Canadian born emerging artist currently based in Launceston, Tasmania. Through meticulously rendered paintings, Barron’s practice centres on recontextualising everyday objects and food through contemporary still life. Embedded with a sense of playfulness and unreserved joy, each painting invites the viewer to reassess the make-up of our everyday, specifically in around objects typically associated children’s play and confectionary. These include plastic toys, foil balloons, ice creams and lollies, often juxtaposed against each other in humorous or unexpected ways.
Contrasting saturated colours and brilliant lighting against theatrical black backgrounds, Baron creates compelling compositions that amplify her subject’s synthetic qualities and kitsch aesthetics. Through the hyper-realistic translation into paint, Barron uncovers the hidden beauty of these objects which in turn begins to alter their symbolic meaning. Through each work, Barron invites us to reconsider the significance of these objects and reengage with the enjoyment and delight that comes with childhood wonder.
Equally, Barron’s work starts to ask more serious questions around the materialistic drive of modern society and how the converted nature of these objects is a broader reflection on consumerist contemporary culture.
Katie Barron completed RBC Emerging Visual Artists Program, Alberta, Canada in 2020. Since moving to Australia, Barron has been selected for numerous group exhibitions, including RISE at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in 2023, as well as the Woolmers Estate Annual Art Exhibition, Longford. Barron has been selected as a finalist in numerous art prizes, including the York Botanic Art Prize, Western Australia, as well as winning first prize in the 2023 The Henry Jones Art Prize, Hobart. Barron has work held in private collections across Canada and Australia.
