DANA BARNES creates textural and sculptural works, objects, and site-specific architectural installations that are made solely by hand. Every work embodies Barnes' deep fascination with materiality, process, and experimentation and comes to life in her Lower East Side New York studio where she devises her own methods and tools to produce the 3-dimensional forms. Using innovative wet bonding processes, woolen and exotic fiber masses are fused with contrasting elements, both natural and manmade, to form abstract compositions that defy convention and challenge the viewer’s preconceived notion of material and context. Barnes’ exploration of the duality of material is manifested in her novel use of fibers melded with concrete, stone, wood, copper, clay, resin, rubber and, most recently, knotted antique Persian carpets as an infusion substrate. Whether informed by a material paradox or the gritty sensual beauty of natural forces, Barnes’ work aspires to evoke a deeply visceral and physical connection. Dana Barnes’ works can be found in acclaimed modern architectural spaces as well as private collections throughout the US, Western Europe, Scandinavia, Dubai, Russia, China and India. Her pieces are regularly exhibited at major art and design venues around the world.

Barnes studied at Parsons and The New York Studio School on her way to a career designing for high-end fashion houses in NYC and Europe. During these formative years, she lived and traveled throughout the Indian subcontinent, Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Asia cultivating a deep awareness of textile and tactile forms. She founded Dana Barnes Studio in 2010 and today works from a turn-of-the-century former synagogue with a small team of artisans to hand make both small and large-scale compositions.

(Photo Credit: Emilianp Granado; Source: R & Co.)