VIveka barnett
Viveka Barnett holds a BFA from the University of Houston and studied with Dorothy Hood at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. A belief in the idea of eternal recurrence and the notion that the world will repeat itself forever are ongoing themes in her artwork. It is an emotional and spiritual combination which enables Barnett to compare moments in history to current events. Her long career includes exhibitions with DiverseWorks, The Art League of Houston, Blaffer Gallery (now the Blaffer Art Museum), the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Philadelphia Arts Alliance, and with Houston art galleries William Graham Gallery, the DuBose Gallery, and Heidi Vaughan Fine Art. Barnett taught Art After School at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), and was a Hunting Art Prize finalist in 2008 and 2015.
“My vision is not profound, but I hope it is intriguing. In my imagination, I see orbs, bubbles, and beings from the past emerging from a portal, a crack in time. They have come back to remind us that we are supposed to learn from our mistakes, not repeat them. Our ancestors had memories. Where did their memories go? Can they teach us anything now? There is something magical about the colors of the old west and the ancient world. I suspect that the lights and shadows were different back then. I can almost feel the slow lumbering of the woolly mammoth. Why does Wild Bill Hickok appear so sad? What does the Indian know that makes him smile so broadly? Or why does Big Foot keep showing up? What does he want to tell us? Even though there are no answers to these questions, just wondering helps to make and keep them alive. This is what I am trying to accomplish visually through my art making.”
