illuminato #12 Print

Barbara Schaefer is an interdisciplinary artist whose paintings and photographs are exhibited internationally. She obtained a BFA from The University of Arizona and an MFA from San Francisco State University. She won a Helen Wurlitzer Foundation Artist-in-Residency award in 1997, the New York Foundation For The Arts Sponsorship in 1996, a grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2004 and an Artist-in-Residency award at the Fundación Valparaiso in 2005. In 2011, Barbara had a solo museum exhibition at the Museo Comunale D’Arte Moderna in Senigallia, Italy and received a grant from Franklin Furnace. In 2015, Barbara’s photography was exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France and at the Scope Art Fair in Miami. In 2016 she had a solo exhibition in Rome, Italy at Studio Matacotta. In 2017 2017 a three-year collaborative project was held at El Barrio’s ArtSpace PS 109 in East Harlem. In 2019 she had a solo interactive multimedia exhibition with video, sound, photography at The Macro Museum in Rome. Barbara lived in Rome, Italy from 1983 until 1995. Her experience of living in Rome had a significant impact and influence on her work and in her life. The city's beauty inspired her toward refinement and aesthetic choice, while its omnipresent history, such as the facades of old Rome, weathered with patina, permeated her work. Italian culture and language, so rich and lively, compelled her to think and act in ways she would not have otherwise discovered.