Barbarina

Broad Street Review

2009-08-28T13:08:00.007-04:00

BARBARA ROSIN'S UMBRIA LANDSCAPES

by Robert Zaller

'Field in Italy' (2002): In Place of novelty, patient exploration.

"An old style and an old subject - yet Barbara Rosin’s responses are

fresh and vivid, her brushwork is fluid and supple,

and her imaginative engagement creates a crepuscular world where

landscape trembles on the verge of vision."

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FRESH RESPONSES FROM AN OLD TALE:

An American Impressionist in Umbria

- ROBERT ZALLER

There is a line falsely drawn under the fine arts between artists who work in a traditional idiom and those who seek the cutting edge. Occidental art is, no doubt, self-transformational in a way that, say, Chinese art prior to Western influence was not. Byzantine art, even after encountering the Renaissance, remained substantially unmodified for another two centuries; rather, it was the West that took up Byzantine forms (just as China influenced the West long before the shoe settled on the other foot).

This isn’t an either-or proposition. Dynamism has its place in art; so does the slow refinement of an essentially static tradition. Even within Western art, this dialogue continues. No composer was more astonishingly revolutionary than Johann Sebastian Bach in terms of emotional and structural complexity, yet his achievement was accomplished not only within wholly traditional forms but even using some that were considered retrograde by the avant-garde of his day. The 19th-Century argument between Brahms and Wagner posed a similar issue, dividing their respective partisans into hostile camps. I suppose they enjoyed the argument, but today we can simply enjoy the music.

Our most revolutionary organ

The avant-garde has taken, shall we say, a breather in much contemporary art. No one faults Cormac McCarthy for not being as innovative as William Faulkner, or Philip Roth for failing to advance on Kafka or Musil. Partly this is a matter of genius; we take what we can get, and not all ages produce artists of the highest caliber. Partly it may be a matter of consolidation: Early and mid-20th century art gave us a lot to digest.

The one arena where the avant-garde still pushes hard is the plastic arts. The passing of Robert Rauschenberg— who fractured and refractured the picture plane, mixing genres the way other artists mixed paints— reminds us that the optic nerve is the most revolutionary organ of the human imagination. But that which is chiefly novel loses its luster quickly enough, while patient exploration of an established language can yield unexpected pleasures.

Letting structure bleed slowly

Barbara Rosin’s current show at the Cosmopolitan Club is a case in point. Rosin not only works in a style— Impressionism— that the fine arts seem to have yielded to commerce, but her subject, the Umbrian countryside of Italy, is a thrice-told tale as well. Yet her responses are fresh and vivid, her brushwork is fluid and supple, and her imaginative engagement creates a crepuscular world where landscape trembles on the verge of vision.

This is not Italy as it has come down to us since the time of Claude; nor is it the intensely visionary Mediterranean landscape of a modern master like de Stael. Rosin responds to this grove and that field, letting structure bleed forth slowly from perception, and a certain indeterminacy leads the viewer toward a mystery it is best to indicate rather than specify.

She is particularly adept at loading her brush to achieve striplings of thinness and thickness that let the viewer’s eye shape its own forms. This is perhaps most true of her “Zembla” series, with its twilit aura. But all Rosin’s work is interactive in the best sense, an invitation to enter a field of vision. This show is one of the pleasures of Philadelphia’s spring season.

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BARBARA ROSIN'S STUDIO

120 W. Meade Street

Philadelphia, PA 19118

215.242.1811

Open Studios

2009-08-27T17:14:00.048-04:00

BARBARA B. ROSIN

Dear Friends,

As I write this now, I am sitting and drawing at the Medici Fountain in Paris' Luxembourg Jardin, one of my most treasured places. The temperature is 73 degrees, the sun dapples through this grand cathedral allee of London plane trees. I hear the subdued tones of so many languages spoken nearby, birds' song and burbling water. I'm trying to capture the delicate gesture of the lovely, curving railing in front of me . . . the heart fills with joy, and all seems right with the world.

Images and memories appear in spirit - and I wish I could share this serenity with everyone I care about.

I find a remembrance of long ago times, and emotions, weaving their ways into my paintings and drawings.

In paintings that clients have recently commissioned, I've been interpreting their favorite scenes [and possibly, their memories], with my painting style. I've enjoyed portraying others' experiences in this way, and it is something I hope to continue doing.

Scenes such as this in the Luxembourg Jardin, drawing my "Italian mystery trees" in Hyde Park, or painting the far shore of Lago Trasimeno are things I love to do, and scenes I want to capture. I'm sure others have experienced similar moments in special places – and this is how a “commission” begins.

Consider how you'd like to have your own treasured scene in a painting. Bring me your thoughts, perhaps your own photo, or possibly beginning with an image that catches your eye from my website . . . barbarinaart.blogspot.com*

*There is never an obligation to purchase the finished painting if the client is not perfectly happy with it. A painting also makes a special gift for someone else.

* * * * * * * * * *

With great pleasure, I invite you to
my Open Studio this September!

SEPTEMBER 2010

SOLO EXHIBIT - BARBARA B. ROSIN

JOURNEY TO

TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN

Ryan John Art Salon

The Piazza at Schmidt's, Suite 51

1050 N. Hancock Street - Northern Liberties

Philadelphia, PA 215.925.6900

I hope that you will come by!

- Bobby

* * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Friends of the Barnes website at Friends of the Barnes

My paintings are linked to Save the Barnes Legal Defense Fund.

* * * * * * * * * *

THANKS FOR VISITING!
ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL 215.242.1811
OR EMAIL ME AT ROSIN.B@GMAIL.COM

Painting Gallery 1

2007-02-14T15:56:00.013-05:00

hot summer day
oil on board
13"h x 16"w

~

little house in sweet valley
oil on paper
30"h x 38"w

~

zembla
oil on canvas
20"h x 18"w

~

field in italy
oil on paper
26"h x 38"w

~

smiling blue skies
oil on canvas
16"h x 24"w

~

finding bastia
oil on paper
30"h x 40"w

~

sudden snowfall
oil on canvas
25"h x 20"w

penny lane
oil on canvas
20"h x 24"w

sempre caro
oil on paper
18"h x 24"w

still pink water
oil on paper
30"h x 40"w

al di la
oil on paper
7.5"h x 5.5"w

pink water south
oil on paper
15"h x 15"w

italian haze
oil on paper
22"h x 24"w

early autumn woods
(detail)
oil on canvas
30"h x 40"w

before the rain
oil on paper
15"h x 14"w

daphnis and apollo
oil on paper
8"h x 7"w

frutteto e margine
(orchard and lake)
oil on paper
5"h x 11"w

green lake memory
oil on canvas
8"h x 10"w

~

i cipresi
(the cypresses)
oil on paper
8"h x 6"w

~

il sentiero
(pathway)
oil on paper
8"h x 7"w

~

mid afternoon
oil on paper
5.5"h x 5"w

~

england
oil on board
16"h x 10"w

~

little pond
oil on canvas
11"h x 14"w

~

willows
oil on board
8"h x 11"w

~

willow
oil on canvas
5"h x 11"w

Painting Gallery 2

2007-02-14T15:28:00.093-05:00

two blue houses
oil on canvas
18"h x 22"w

~

afternoon lake
oil on paper
22"h x 28"w

~

alice afternoon, france
oil on paper
16"h x 12"w

~

blue house at lake
oil on canvas
14"h x 10"w

~

eight fields apart
oil on board
11"h x 14"w

~

la tempesta viene
oil on board
11"h x 14"w

~

lake memory
oil on canvas
12"h x 9"w

midnight assisi
oil on canvas
12"h x 9"w

~

mont st. victoire
(detail)
oil on canvas
19"h x 20"w

~

in the quiet woods
oil on linen
8"h x 8"w

~

olive orchard
oil on board
8"h x 6"w

~

garden
oil on canvas
20"h x 18"w

~

lake trasimeno
oil on paper
24"h x 23"w

~

sweet pitcher
oil on board
17"h x 13"w

~

murmuring trees
oil on board
8"h x 11"w

~

perugia
oil on paper
18"h x 14"w

~

snow day
oil on board
22"h x 16"w

~

still life
oil on canvas
16"h x 20"w

~

studio, italy
oil on canvas
16"h x 12"w

~

summer
oil on paper
11"h x 13"w

~

path through orchard
oil on board
16"h x 20"w

~

pink dawn
oil on canvas
11"h x 14"w

~

primavera
oil on canvas
7"h x 10"w

~

early april snowfall
oil on canvas
29"h x 18"w

~

winter woods
(detail)
oil on paper
15"h x 36"w

~

blue ladies
oil on board
8"h x 9"w

Painting Gallery 3

2007-02-05T13:14:00.148-05:00

casa dal sogno
oil on paper
24"h x 36"w

~

ancore, bastia
oil on paper
40"h x 50"w

garden, springtime
oil on canvas
16"h x 20"w

~

stranger on the shore
oil on paper
12"h x 40"w

~

the cypress road, assisi
(detail)
oil on board
20"h x 12"w

blue vase and flowers
oil on paper
24"h x 14"w

~

beyond the sea
oil on paper
26"h x 14"w

journey to turquoise mountain
oil on linen
14"h x 29"w

~

mont saint victoire
oil on board
12"h x 14"w

~

two streams meeting, france
oil on paper
30"h x 22"w

~

pitcher and morning glory
oil on board
24"h x 8"w

~

blue mountains
oil on paper
18"h x 30"w

~

late may
oil on canvas
24"h x 18"w

diane
oil on paper
24"h x 32"w

~

early autumn
(detail)
oil on canvas
30"h x 40"w

~

gladioli, summer
oil on board
26"h x 22"w

~

cypresses, assisi
(detail)
oil on paper
18"h x 16"w

~

woods, roussan
pastel and oil
20"h x 32"w

~

late afternoon, winter
oil on board
18"h x 24"w

~

green lake, july
oil on board
24"h x 20"w

~

farmhouse, italy
(detail)
oil on canvas
40"h x 30"w

~

path to the pond
oil on canvas
24"h x 36"w

~

luglio
(july)
oil on board
28"h x 30"w

~

gli alberi
(trees)
oil on paper
15"h x 40"w

~

pond, nightfall
oil on canvas
24"h x 30"w

~

pathway
(detail)
oil on canvas
30"h x 24"w

~

august haze, italy
oil on board
22"h x 24"w

Painting Gallery 4

2006-04-05T18:32:00.056-04:00

blossoms in a shop, Japan

oil on glass

28"h x 20"w

in a Japanese flower shop

oil on glass

24"h x 28"w

by the pond

oil on canvas

20"h x 16"w

tranquil lake

oil on paper

12"h x 18"w

autumn

oil on paper

20"h x 16"w

pond

oil on canvas

16"h x 20"w

autumn reflection

oil on canvas

12"h x 14"w

Gallery 5 - Drawings, Watercolors and Pastels

2006-03-27T14:47:00.086-05:00

yesterday
watercolor and ink
10"h x 13"w

*this painting can be customized for your own family

vermont
pastel
14"h x 22"w

blue vase
pastel and watercolor
20"h x 22"w

il giardino
watercolor
4"h x 5"w

sunporch, night time
watercolor
24"h x 20"w

~

blue japanese vase
watercolor
16"h x 20"w

~

swimmer in the middle
of the ocean
watercolor
10"h x 8"w

~

in the little cafe
ink drawing
8"h x 9"w

hidden away
ink drawing
6"h x 10"w

senti mamma
ink drawing
9"h x 12"w

nel bosco scuro

(in the dark wood)
ink drawing
5"h x 7"w

little chapel
ink drawing
12"h x 8"w

in the morning,

after cooking
ink drawing
6"h x 7"w

lot's wife
ink drawing
8"h x 6"w

nancy drew on

towanda avenue
ink drawing
10"h x 9"w

nel giardino patalini
ink drawing
11"h x 9"w

in the little park
ink drawing
6"h x 7"w

quartetto d'archi
ink drawing
7"h x 7"w

reverie, bryant park
ink drawing
8"h x 8"w

Exhibitions & Quotes & Reviews

2006-03-26T12:53:00.008-05:00

Domestic Exhibitions

Appel Art Gallery
Artists Cultural Exchange
Abington Art Center
Allens Lane Art Center
ArtForms
Beacon Red Bank Art Space
Cheltenham Art Center
Fleisher Art Memorial
Freeman and Co.
Hill at Whitemarsh
JMS Gallery
Langman Gallery
Nexus Foundation
Philadelphia Sketch Club
The Cosmopolitan Club
The Frame House
The Plastic Club
Rehoboth Art League
Saint Asaph's Gallery
Schuylkill Gallery
Skylight Gallery
Tyme Gallery
University of Pennsylvania
Vermont Studio Center Gallery
Woodmere Art Museum

International Exhibitions

Galerie Chapin - Paris, France
Centro per Pace - Assisi, Italy
Le Loggie - Assisi, Italy
Lo Studiolo - Todi, Italy
La Lingua La Vita - Todi, Italy

Quotes

"Begin with silence. Recall how it hangs over remote landscapes, where much may seem familiar. The comforting peacefulness there."

"Thoughts wander to scenes from memory, to pure gesture itself. From time to time, resting on what is in the present moment."

"A painterly dream sequence, caught in this visual echo. There is nuance . . . and traces of vulnerability, inviting questions which do not have answers."

“While painting, I’m often drawn to patterns formed by color and shape in nature. Very often, ideas and images reveal themselves spontaneously.”

“I rarely paint what I see in front of me. I like to wander and notice how landscapes and people vary. And how often they can seem very similar. Relationships between forms in the landscape intrigue me. I try to imagine the atmosphere of what I’m seeing – the emotion, state of mind, as well as the ambiguity.”

“Many paintings have to do with Umbria in central Italy, specifically a lake called Trasimeno. It goes on and on, its serene colors captivating. Distant violet trees and hills, a creamy grey-green lake, yellow and pink blossoms along a melancholy shoreline.”

“Back in the studio, I try to remember the hum and harmony, as well as the silence. Recalling the memory, I begin to paint.”

Articles

Chestnut Hill artist a true Renaissance woman
By Marie Fowler

“I’m not a painter of people,” Chestnut Hill artist Barbara Rosin observed in her poem, Landscapes of My Mind. “For now,” the poet continues, “it’s enough for me to … envision a landscape where people journey freely.”

Rosin is literally a Renaissance woman. Not only is she multi-talented, intellectual, acutely attuned to issues both local and global, but also she spends a part of every year in Italy.

“I have an Italian fascination,” Rosin confesses, tracing back to an artist’s residency in Assisi 10 years ago. Asked to do a subsequent show there, she found the negotiations difficult since she spoke no Italian and the Italians spoke no English. Rosin whisked herself off for language lessons, an interest she continues, engaging in intensive study at Todi, near Assisi, when she is abroad. She has even developed her own Italian-American network here, illustrating poems written by Americans (many of whom live in Philadelphia) of Italian descent.

“There are two things I like to do at the end of the day in Italy,” Rosin notes, displaying her charming pen-and-ink drawings. “I like to go into the beautiful little churches. She sits quietly, observing “the same ladies who show up every afternoon.” Then, the artist is off to the park, where yet another set of “regulars” gathers daily. “It’s something we don’t have here — people meeting at the same place every day.”

For someone whose sublime, painted landscapes are empty except for the presence of the artist herself, Rosin has a remarkable touch when she chooses to portray people. Her drawings are so different from her paintings that one might surmise she is two very different artists. The artist who draws scenes chock-full of chatty villagers, seems leagues removed from the serene painter who gives us fields and meadows and mountains in lemon yellow, soft lavender and pale aqua. Rosin’s sensibility may be Italian, but her palette is pure French Impressionism.

“I have been drawing my whole life, since I first picked up a pencil,” Rosin admits, both from her imagination and from “what’s in front of me. I’m not a realist; even my still lifes are from my imagination. It’s interesting to me how some artists must have something in front of them, but I can’t have anything in front of me.

“I think I had a fantasy that I would be a fashion illustrator,” Rosin recalls, speaking of her childhood growing up in Cheltenham. But the Saturday morning classes at the Cheltenham Art Center and Tyler seduced her. “I like the smell of oil,” she adds, noting that ultimately it became her medium of choice. While at Fleisher and at Penn, Rosin concentrated on printmaking.

She spent several years as an art therapist at the Philadelphia Psychiatric Center, now the Belmont Center for Comprehensive Medicine. “I’m interested in psychology, literature and all things having to do with the mind and how people think. Art was a tool for patients to express things they could not otherwise express. It was very fulfilling.”

Rosin moved on to teach painting in the Jewish Community Center’s Jacob and Esther Stiffel Senior Center on Porter Street in south Philadelphia. Later, she created and administered adult education programs. For 15 years, Rosin oversaw a curriculum that included art and music appreciation, film studies, world affairs, literature. Rosin worked with “younger older people, recently retired, very culturally aware.”

But her palette called and Rosin took a sabbatical just “to see if I wanted to devote myself to painting full time.” This is a woman who embraces opportunity — for her 60th birthday, she gathered with family and friends in New Orleans, driving down so she could linger at beds-and-breakfasts throughout the South, ever observing and stoking her powerful powers of creativity.

Since giving herself over to the paintbrush entirely, Rosin has never looked back, although she continues to teach one day a week at the Stiffel Senior Center.

“I get inspired by landscape,” Rosin explains, turning to her dreamy, impressionistic compositions with their soft pastel hues. “I have been lucky enough to travel.”

Rosin has painted in the fields where Van Gogh and Pissarro painted. Now, she principally does watercolors or sketches on the spot and returns to her studio to retrieve the feelings. Her compositions are “totally imaginary” and her colors are exquisite.

Rosin works primarily in oil on primed paper. “I love the feel of thick paper,” she explains, citing the slight give of stretched canvas as a brush goes into it. “I got rid of the easel,” she shrugs, preferring to tack Arches watercolor paper directly to a white wall in her studio.

Rosin also does drawings and paintings on commission. “There’s no obligation to buy,” she promises, unless the patron is absolutely happy. It’s hard to imagine one wouldn’t be thrilled by highly-colored watercolors of bustling, picturesque old country villages, which Rosin customizes to fit the ethnic background and occupation of grandmother’s or grandfather’s family.

Having recently escorted a group of her Stiffel students to the Barnes Foundation, Rosin reveals another facet of her activist side. She is now a staunch member of the Friends of the Barnes, a group devoted to keeping the Barnes Collection in its original, intended setting. Rosin has been visiting the collection since she was a teenager.

“I believer very, very strongly that it should stay where it is. That’s what Dr. Barnes wanted.” Rosin acknowledges that the paintings could be moved and the galleries reconstructed, but the connection to the surrounding arboretum would be lost. “You can’t duplicate the setting. It’s the single most important museum in the whole world,” Rosin opines, speaking as a painter.

“If it moves,” Rosin insists, “it’s not the Barnes Foundation anymore. It’s Epcot Center, it’s Disney World. The judge did not order the Barnes to move. He only granted permission that, as a last resort, such a move would be allowed.”