SFAI's Betsy Barnum

Courtesy of the artist

Betsy Barnum, "It Breathes 4" (2005)

Courtesy of the artist

Betsy Barnum, "Playing the Mussels as We're Going Down, Through Blue Pools" (2006)

Graham Nickson

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Artist's Statement:
I use my works on paper to describe my life, expressing my thoughts and emotions about a specific moment or circumstance through my relationships with those I am closest to.

I build up thin layers of paint, ink and erased charcoal to conceal and reveal images the way emotions and behavior are unconsciously layered to hide or signal something to others.

The gesture and composition of the figures in my work are very important, as they are the first indicators of the work's meaning. I use recurring objects from piece to piece as symbols or metaphors for people and ideas.

For example, I often use a typewriter to represent myself, or a bird as a metaphor for fear, or the fleeting nature of time.

I use paper as my surface because of its flexibility, smoothness and capacity for erasure. Like a palimpsest, it shows the progression and history of layers of marks. It is like skin; it wrinkles and fights back when worked on, asserting its personality into the painting or drawing.

Like journal pages, my work is an ongoing narrative, each piece chronologically linked to the others. The work is often grouped in a series. Each gesture, color, layer and object is significant, and each work interacts with the others to establish meaning through a repetition of these elements.

Artist's Biography:
Betsy Barnum was born in San Francisco in 1982. She has exhibited in both San Francisco and Indianapolis. Her solo exhibitions include "Stillness. She Begins" at the Diego Rivera Gallery, "Geminus" at Live Worms Gallery and "Falls Into Place" at the Swell Gallery.

She has participated in recent group exhibitions, including "Contemporary Narratives" at the Swell Gallery in San Francisco, and "The Art of the Book: Bay Area Treasures," at the Donna Seager Gallery in San Rafael, Calif. In May 2006, her work can be seenin "Vernissage," the MFA exhibition of the San Francisco Art Institute at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

She received her Master of Fine Art degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in May 2006. She received her Bachelor of Art degree magna cum laude, with honors in art, from Anderson University in 2004. She also studied drawing with artist Graham Nickson at the New York Studio School in 2001. In 2003 She received the Bengtson Award from Anderson University.

About the San Francisco Art Institute:
At the San Francisco Art Institute, art is more than objects and processes; it is also a way of thinking, an approach to both knowledge and the world itself.

SFAI's degree programs further the relationship between the practices, histories and theories of contemporary art and culture. The School of Studio Practice consists of the institute's historical departments of Design+Technology, Film, New Genres, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture. Offering BFA and MFA degrees and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, The School of Studio Practice is centered on the development of the artist's vision through studio-based experiments and the understanding that the work of the artist is an essential part of society.

The School of Interdisciplinary Studies, offers programs in History and Theory of Contemporary Art (BA, MA), Urban Studies (BA, MA) and Exhibition and Museum Studies (MA). Supporting the role of research and other forms of education, The School of Interdisciplinary Studies is based on the premise that critical reading, thinking, and writing—informed by an in-depth understanding of theory and practice—are essential for engaging and understanding contemporary art and global society. Also under this school's aegis are SFAI's four centers for interdisciplinary study: Art+Science; Public Practice; Word, Text, and Image; and Media Culture. Each center sponsors symposia, seminars, exhibitions, research fellowships, and residencies at SFAI during the academic year.