Ian Barr is a sculptor and painter, born in Glasgow and a graduate of Glasgow School of Art. He lives and works on The Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands. After graduating in the late sixties, he taught in schools and universities in Scotland and the USA. He has also consistently been engaged as a consultant on a significant number of arts-based projects, both in the UK and internationally. His work is represented in public and private collections both in the UK and abroad. He was a Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland from 2005 until 2013.
Each of Ian Barr’s works is a personal response to a specific location, occasion or incident, mediated by time and the random and ambiguous processes of memory. They are interpretations of often seemingly unimportant moments, places and experiences. The forms and symbols represent and depict the artist’s conception of the world.
For the most part, the works are connected with built places and objects in the environment. Each is a journey towards understanding and meaning-making for the artist.
Those who view these works will bring with them their own understandings, interpretations and memories with which to make sense of what they see. Each image should be understood in terms of the connections it suggests to the viewer and the meaning it brings to their own lives.