UPCOMING

WONDER

July 16 - September 2, 2024

“She is, quite simply put, the world’s pre-eminent watercolorist, persisting over the past four decades in the mastery of her idiom.” - Museum - Director Charles Riley

Barbara Prey Projects is pleased to announce Wonder, an exhibition showcasing the latest monumental watercolors by acclaimed American artist Barbara Ernst Prey. This collection not only pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of size and concept but also continues the exploration of the interplay between reality and imagination. In an era where virtual worlds increasingly dominate our daily lives, Prey draws inspiration from nature to enrich our perception of reality. Her layered, luminous, and nuanced paintings speak to issues of gender, climate and ecology, and spiritual wonder. Prey’s practice evokes the seemingly everyday to push the boundaries of what the medium of watercolor can do.

Her attention to details recalls Vermeer..it’s a painter’s job to notice, and to draw out the nuance and light in what the rest of us ignore. Prey has that eye and hand... what she makes touches the divine and has staying power.
-The Boston Globe

Prey's paintings, characterized by her signature watercolor technique, are in prominent collections worldwide, including The National Gallery of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Kennedy Space Center, and The White House permanent collection. – where she is one of two living female artists represented in The White House collection. Having been commissioned by NASA four times (including the unique distinction of being the only female artist commissioned on four occasions) and recently commissioned by MASS MoCA to create the world's largest watercolor (8’ x 15’, currently on long-term exhibition at the museum), Prey navigates seamlessly between realism and abstraction, painterliness and reduction, perception and synthesis. Wonder offers a new chapter in her artistic journey. Included in the exhibit are her never before seen paintings Convergences, Dusk and Twilight Glow as well as her print Dusk’s Early Light which is one of the few artworks that miraculously survived the devastating Port Clyde Village Fire (New York Times, January 3, 2024). “During these times I believe s it is important to point to the awe around us, “ Prey said. Her work establishes a 21st-century female perspective in the trajectory of watercolor in American Art but also contributes to expanding this historical male tradition. Barbara Prey Projects, situated in the village setting of Port Clyde, provides the perfect backdrop for Wonder. The exhibition is a testament to Prey's artistic versatility and her commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative expression.