May Barrie - sculptor
May Barrie - from Obituary, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 2015
"May Barrie has always been fascinated by stone, whether it be the rounded water-washed stones from the south coast of New South Wales, or the stone blasted out of quarries - marble from Angaston and granite from Black Hill in South Australia. For May Barrie, who lives on a country property inland from Wollongong, the stone is the starting point and suggests the forms that will emerge as she uses her pneumatic stone-carving tools. The water-washed stones invariably lend themselves to rounded forms that are both aesthetically pleasing and a delight to touch. The angular forms of the materials selected from the quarry sites frequently lead to more assertive, more aggressive works, while the seams of ironstone in the local sandstone often suggest concavities, which she exploits.
As an artist, she is the perfect example of the modernist philosophy of truth to material; at times she reveals the inner strength of the stone with forms that are bursting with energy, at other times she produces works that are quietly contemplative." Ken Scarlett, Australian Art Review 16 February 2010 |
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