Glenn Barr's Faces

by Glenn Barr

Detroit-based artist Glenn Barr presents a 96-page compilation featuring details from 80 paintings and drawings he created over the past five years. Inspired by the complex expressions and raw emotions revealed by faces, Barr invokes the human condition, creating a multitude of personalities ranging from extraordinarily common to extreme and fantastic. Barr uses pencil and brush to render elegant and elongated necklines, exaggerated eyes, and the gentle or jagged slopes shaping the noses or foreheads of the men, women, and monsters he creates, whether they are beautiful, ordinary, or even grotesque. Expressed in the intricate details of each image, Barr presents a delicate mix of texture, color and line typical of the his loose but carefully executed style. Turn the page to reveal subtle or manic emotions of the wise, the wicked and the wistful. "Faces" brings each reader one step closer to experiencing first hand the compelling mind and interesting characters found in the world of Glenn Barr.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Chris Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there a line between illustration and art, or are they one and the same? If the answer is no, it is clear that nobody would be able to explain why with precision.

There is no doubt Barr is talented. Almost to the very last, any image used in the book would be a joy to see in person. But when you put them all together, full bleed and uniformly square in a single book, it causes them to lose their impact. You immediately start to see a formula, which deadens the feel of an image if it were more isolated. With no narrative, you look for patterns from one image to the next, a development or a message within the subjects. Finding none, you are left rather unsatisfying as all the faces blend into one.

The effect is this: in a month, I will be able to recognize a Glenn Barr painting immediately, but I won't be able to recall a specific one of his paintings.