Oscar Barra

Oscar Barra was born in Santiago, Chile, on September 19, 1964. Between 1986 through 1991, he studied art at the University of Concepción. His work has been shown in regional and global galleries, both individually and collaboratively, and he has established a reputation both at home and abroad.

He was also a co-founder and leader of the Grisalla Group, which was disbanded a few years ago. He accepted a position at the University of Concepción's School of Architecture, a position he resigned to devote himself entirely to painting. He has featured in over a hundred solo, and group exhibits in Chile and internationally.

His work may be seen at the Museum of Visual Arts in Santiago, the Rally Museum in Santiago, and Caesarea (Israel), as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chile. He maintains a workshop in Santiago, where he resides.

OSCAR BARRA: HIS JOURNEY

He had always wished to be a painter. The fact is that he had a strong want to paint and come up with new stories since he was a youngster. He spotted several images hanging in a room while wandering through the streets of Chillán with his father when he was approximately seven years old. 

It was a mountain range in the background. Oscar Barra liked the simplicity, and the minimalism appealed to him. He was awestruck. That's when he realized he wanted to be a painter. As a result, he began hunting for books and publications. There was no internet at the time, and there was no place to go to watch an exhibition. Such displays were quite uncommon. He knew very little about Chilean artists, so he slowly gathered knowledge.

Furthermore, his aunt sent him drawing pencils, a drawing pad, and a painting book. So, he began painting or attempting to paint and sketch. Still, it was challenging for him because he had all the painters in his mind that he had seen in encyclopedia publications at the time. Their work was truly outstanding, much above the capabilities of a 10-year-old youngster. He created his universes, stories, and characters when he couldn't compete with those artists.

His family always told him that painting was a game and he had to think about doing something else in the future. They told him that he was an intelligent child and he should be investing in his future, such as architecture, law, medicine, or something like that. None of those things interested him at all. 

He studied in Santiago at the Colegio Cervantes, which encouraged him a lot. This is where he dedicated himself to painting for the first time. In fact, the school wanted to take him to the Academy of Fine Arts. They offered him a place in Santiago de Carmen. However, his parents refused.

Slowly, he revived his passion for painting. Now, he lives in Santiago and works full-time on his art. It took him some time, but he finally managed to pursue his dream and show the world what his imagination had to offer.

OSCAR BARRA: HIS WORK

Oscar Barra's art oscillates between figurative and surreal elements. Toys, ladders, wheels, automobiles carrying antiques, and machinery are used to construct new metaphorical worlds. 

Barra's figuration is distinguished by meticulous sketching and the use of dimension as a tool to give presence to his figures, which he places in environments without perspective. His work represents ongoing labor with a crucial instrument for an artist, the imagination, which is at risk of extinction. 

Oscar Barra has carved out his route in painting, eschewing the aesthetic fads and currents that ebb and flow in the world of creation. It has a designated north, but not the materials that make up its collages and compositions along the route. It feeds on a variety of species and coloristic mediums that abound in the bountiful imaginative forest.

The enigmatic nature of the terrain in which he situates his characters leads us to the dreamy as our first impression. However, as he progresses through the series of pieces, he unveils a parallel universe that is impossible to categorize. 

The colorful satisfaction that his paintings offer appears to be aided by reflection. You may observe a Newtonian prism that astonishes the spectator when he sees the first beam of light that reaches him in the semi-darkness of a halftone-accustomed rural cottage.

Color brings people, creatures, and technology from the past to life. Oscar Barra's limitless dream is shaped by a symbolic fauna made with a thin brush and delicate line. These vibrant landscapes with mythical people are depicted as a future planet encased in a Middle Ages artistic metaphor.

Oscar Barra uses his flowing touch to bring even the most mysterious of stories to life. These stories depict his mental wasteland, constantly constructing a plane-by-plane arrangement of underlying materials. On this side of the mountain range, a remarkable chromatic harmony in the prism of the plastic circle highlights their distinct lines, backdrops, and figures.

The attention to detail in the cleanliness of the color application is impressive. It also numbs the harsh hues, merging them in a subtle interweaving that produces an excellent backdrop for the spectator. The internal artist's creative devotion pushes him to immerse himself in the material narrative, including fractal insects, pollen, space suits, unbalanced spacecraft, and temperamental creatures.

OSCAR BARRA: HIS INSPIRATION

Surrealism is a theme that may be found in his work. It's figurative, spectacular, and has a precise sketch to it. Similarly, in his work, the lack of perspective, flat volumetry, and imaginative creatures and biomechanical items come from dreams he experienced as a youngster.

His interest in art and painters such as Max Ernst and Giorgio de Chirico grew due to these dreams. He is also influenced by literature, particularly science fiction authors like Ray Bradbury, Jorge Luis Borges, and Julio Verne.

His curiosity for our odd and lovely planet, as well as the potential of life beyond it, fuels his creativity. He makes no attempt to elicit a reaction from the audience or to address major issues of humankind. Instead, he employs a psychological mechanism and technique that is crucial for both kids and artists: wonder and creativity.