Melissa Barber

Born Sydney, Australia.

Melissa Barber is an independent artist based in the Central West town of Canowindra, New South Wales, Australia.

Her work is predominantly exhibited at her studio in Canowindra and from time to time with other commercial galleries with whom she collaborates.

She opened her first gallery in Canowindra in 1999 which established a strong independent approach in bringing an audience to her work. She has mainly exhibited through her own galleries and participated in numerous external exhibitions. Her independence has stayed with her ever since.

Her paintings are in private collections throughout Australia, France, England, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Malaysia, China, and New Zealand, and have appeared several times on the secondary market at current market value.

"My work combines stylised abstraction with the readily identifiable. Deeply influenced by Japanese and Chinese art for their use of negative space versus detail, flat colour and strong use of golds and silvers, my paintings reflect an aesthetically decorative, yet spiritually meditative response to nature.

Composition is governed by the balance of concentrated fine brush work and impasto relief with vast expanses of negativ...