Today’s artist was recommended to me by my lovely reader Hal. I have always been a big fan of Buddhist images and art referring to meditation. Though we don’t meditate (and aren’t practicing Buddhists), we always have a few Buddhas inside and outside our house. They speak to me of peace and calm, and I like how they make me feel. These sculptures of people meditating by Sukhi Barber go far beyond any Buddha statue I’ve ever seen.
“Sukhi traveled to India, captivated by the timeless quality of peace and balance that she found in the art of Asia… She spent twelve years studying Buddhist philosophy and producing sculptures based on the traditional techniques of stone carving and lost-wax bronze casting. Sukhi’s sculptures are intended to bridge the cultures of East and West. Embodying the peace and compositional balance of ancient devotional art, they represent complex philosophical ideas with a simplicity and clarity that renders them accessible on an intuitive level. Exploring themes of hidden potentials, and the transcendence of our limiting view of a solid reality, her work often represents the negative space as being as important as the material itself, implying the dance of form and spirit, a constant state of transformation.
-Sukhi Barber Artist’s Statement
When first I saw them, I assumed the cut out bits were missing parts of the sitting or dancing figures. But listening to Barber talk about them, I have come to understand that the negative spaces instead represent internal spaces freed from the influence of negativity. And her methods of communicating these spiritual breakthroughs are so creative, they’re speaking to me on a really deep level.
You can see all of Sukhi Barber’s thoughtful sculpture on her website and on Facebook and Instagram.
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My OBT 
March 26, 2019 at 8:27 am
Thanks for giving this artist a show. To me she is special. Hal
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March 26, 2019 at 8:45 am
I absolutely agree! And please keep those recommendations coming. This one was a doozie!
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March 26, 2019 at 8:59 am
Wonder how she does this? Does she start out whole and cut away or add little strips and pieces on by one?
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March 26, 2019 at 10:12 am
That’s a good question! I really am fascinated. I love how peaceful this work is, while still remaining interesting and memorable. I’m always amazed by how art can affect my feelings.
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March 26, 2019 at 1:08 pm
I love really effective use of negative space in art and this sculptor uses it beautifully. I especially like the way the pieces cast interesting shadows.
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March 26, 2019 at 1:52 pm
I loved that, too! Hal found a good one!
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