Izzy Barber Brings En Plein Air Painting to Trento's Studio d'Arte Raffaelli
New York-based artist Izzy Barber (b. 1990) is the subject of a solo exhibition at Studio d'Arte Raffaelli in Trento, Italy, strengthening the gallery's longstanding ties to New York art. Barber, a former student and assistant of Transavanguardia artist Francesco Clemente, presents small-scale oil paintings executed entirely en plein air. Her works capture urban scenes, bus rides, pub interiors, drive-in movie projections, and landscapes, all painted on location using portable easels. The intimate dimensions (necessitated by her mobile practice) feature fresh impasto, spontaneous brushwork, and a distinctive technique of scraping away paint with the brush handle to reveal underlying layers. Critics note echoes of Impressionism and urban modernists like Degas, Sisley, Pissarro, John Sloan, Childe Hassam, and Giovanni Boldini, but contextualize Barber's approach as a contemporary reaction to digital dematerialization. Curator Stefano Castelli's catalogue text frames her practice as a return to direct engagement with reality. The exhibition runs at Studio d'Arte Raffaelli in Trento in 2023.
Key facts
- Izzy Barber was born in New York in 1990.
- She was a student and assistant of Francesco Clemente.
- The exhibition is held at Studio d'Arte Raffaelli in Trento, Italy.
- All paintings are created en plein air, on location.
- Works depict urban scenes, buses, pubs, bars, drive-in movies, and landscapes.
- Paintings are small in size to allow portability.
- Barber uses a technique of scraping paint with the brush handle.
- Stefano Castelli wrote the catalogue text.
Entities
Artists
- Izzy Barber
- Francesco Clemente
- Edgar Degas
- Alfred Sisley
- Camille Pissarro
- John Sloan
- Childe Hassam
- Giovanni Boldini
Institutions
- Studio d'Arte Raffaelli
Locations
- New York
- Trento
- Italy