Barbara Gothard

 

Biography:

Barbara Gothard, Ph.D.

As an African American practicing Buddhist and surrealist dwelling in Palm Springs, California, life’s obstacles and contradictions—the dramatic challenge of change infused with great expectation—inspire her creative process.  Her artworks incorporate dream-like metaphors into what at first appear to be realistic settings or images.  Her work reflects her desert environment in subject surroundings, color and aesthetic, which are quite a contrast to her USA Midwestern roots in Springfield, Illinois.   Gothard’s paintings are exhibited internationally and described as sophisticated and approachable, with their echoes of surrealism, embodying simplicity and deception, at the same time.  Impeccably executed, knowledge of her artistry is evident in her use of color, draftsmanship, and execution.   

 

Having weathered her own dramatic personal changes as an indirect catalyst to significant professional changes, she understands the delicate relationship between cause and effect.  Evolving from one transition to another on her non-linear career path, Gothard, who always wanted to be an artist and dreamed of traveling, grew up in a landlocked town in Illinois, always dreaming of traveling, and was fortunate that her mother’s recognition of this interest resulted in Saturday art classes starting in the second grade.  From modest roots to traditional art training - Mount Mary University (BA Art), Long Island University (MA, Art), Michigan State University (Ph.D. Educational Administration) to global business and residencies, she is compelled to translate these obstacles-as-opportunities into the unfolding mysteries of complex spatial relationships in her artwork. She has traveled the world through and understands the impact of our decisions – intended or unintended.  Her risks, although, not always calculated, have become an integral part of this evolution.

 

Spontaneity guides Gothard’s digital painting process letting the evolving images on the canvas or iPad direct the outcome with the underlying premise of expressing challenges we all experience ... entanglements we struggle to escape from, mysteries that draw us into the tension between light and dark where anything is possible.  In addition to her large oil paintings, mono printmaking added another dimension to Gothard’s portfolio.

 

http://barbaragothard.com

#barbaragothardart

 

Exhibit Bio

Recent and Upcoming Exhibitions

2020

Solo Exhibit, Asher Grey Gallery, Venice, CA

Feminist Art Exhibition, Yucca Valley Visual & Performing Arts Center, Yucca Valley, CA (September)

2020 Festival d’Art Sacré de Senlis, Senlis, France (cancelled)

*My gallery since 2014 closed on March 31, 2020 so pending exhibits were cancelled)

 

2019

Festival d’Art Sacré de Senlis, Senlis, France

2019 Artists Council Exhibition, Palm Springs Art Museum-The Galen & Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden, Palm Desert, CA

Mojave Made, Hangar Galleries, Santa Monica, CA

MetaMORPHOSIS, Palm Springs Art Museum-The Galen & Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden, Palm Desert, CA

Artists Council, University of California-Palm Desert, CA

 

2018

JTAG Artists Studio Art Show, Joshua Tree, CA 

Climate Change Summit, University of California-Palm Desert, CA

Gestalt Project 144, bG Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Palm Springs Art Museum Artists Council Experimental Exhibition (Installation), Copper Mountain College, Joshua Tree, CA

The Other Art Fair LA, Presented by Saatchi Art, Los Angeles, CA

Life In The Cracks, Invitational, Group Show, San Bernadino County Museum, Redlands, CA

Palm Springs Art Museum Artists CouncilThird Annual Artistic Expressions of the Coachella Valley, Juried, UC Riverside-Palm Desert, Palm Desert, CA

Palm Springs Art Museum Artists Council in collaboration with Art Patron Magazine, ART Palm Springs 2018

Bold & Bright, 2018 Palm Springs Annual Juried Art Show, City of Palm Springs, CA

Group Show, Joshua Tree Art Gallery (JTAG), Joshua Tree, CA

Galerie Metanoia, A Single Grain of Rice 4, International Collective Exhibit, Paris, France

 

2017

ART Palm Springs 2017, Jorge Mendez Gallery, Palm Springs, CA

Pathways, Contemporary International Women Artists, Jorge Mendez Gallery, Palm Springs, CA

A Mystical Journey: My Evolutionary Existence, Solo Survey Exhibit, Space 4 Art, San Diego, CA

Artists Council at University of California Riverside-Palm Desert, CA

Turn On the Lights, Joshua Tree Art Gallery, Joshua Tree, CA

Art Comes Alive National Juried Exhibition, Cincinnati, OH

 

2016 

Metamorphosis, Joshua Tree Art Gallery

Palm Springs Art Museum 2016 Artists Council Exhibition

Galerie Metanoia, It is the fascinating power of the artists …(vol III)

2016 Palm Springs Fine Arts Fair, Jorge Mendez Gallery, Booth #300

2016 Palm Springs Art Museum Artists Council Artistic Expressions of the Coachella Valley, University of California Riverside-Palm Desert

 

2015

Galerie Metanoia, A Single Grain of Rice 3, International Collective Exhibit, Paris, France

Cambria, Palm Springs Art Museum Artists Council, Palm Dessert, CA

Joshua Tree Art Gallery, Climate Change, Joshua Tree, CA

Jorge Mendez Gallery, 2015 Group of 7 International Women Artists, Palm Springs, CA

Copper Mountain College, Invention Reinvention, Joshua Tree, CA

2015 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Palm Springs, CA

The Saguaro Hotel, Palm Springs Artists Council Exhibit, Palm Springs, CA

 

2014

Joshua Tree Art Gallery, Abracadabra, Joshua Tree, CA

Palm Springs Art Museum 2014 Artist Council Exhibit, Palm Springs, CA

Desert Aids Project, Palm Springs, CA

City of Palm Springs, Pedaling, Palm Springs, CA

Joshua Tree Art Gallery, Places, Joshua Tree, CA

Linus Galleries, Dream States, Long Beach and Pasadena, CA

 

2013 - 2012

City of Palm Springs 75th Anniversary Exhibit    

Palm Springs Art Museum, Artists Council Selection, Palm Springs, CA

 

Numerous Exhibits Prior to 2010 with works in private and institutional collections in  United Kingdom, France, South Africa and the United States(New York; Washington, D.C.; Pennsylvania; cut; Michigan; Illinois; Texas; New Mexico; Arizona; and California Connection

 

 

Galleries

Singulart, Paris, France singulart.com

Jorge Mendez Gallery, Palm Springs, CA (2013 to their closing March 2020)

Asher Grey Gallery, Venice, CA

 

Awards

Honorable Mention, Circle Foundation International, Lyon, France 2020

Best of Show-Most Inventive, Invention Reinvention Copper Mountain College, Joshua Tree, CA 2017

7th ArtSlant Artists Showcase Winner, International, 2013, 2016

 

Education

Ph.D., Educational Administration, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Master’s, Art and Art Education, Long Island University, Greenvale, NY
Bachelor’s, Arts and Art Education, Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, WI

Hometown: Springfield, IL

Directors Education and Certification Program, UCLA Anderson School of Management

 

Hometown: Springfield, Illinois