Denise Bibro Fine Art

Barton combines collage and paint with photography and printmaking techniques to create richly layered works exploring the material and political history of the South, and dissecting female stereotypes of Antebellum and contemporary Southern culture. The work reflects both Barton's childhood memories of growing up in Mississippi, and her later efforts to define what it means to be from the South. Photographic self-portraits are often central to her compositions, in which Barton takes on multiple identities: virginal veiled bride, burlesque vixen, prom queen, Miss America. Images of women reoccur in her work, alongside quintessentially female ephemera: dressmaker's patterns, lace, love letters, and traces of wallpaper from abandoned sharecropper shacks. Barton weaves these elements together with both nostalgia and a sense of disconnect. Ultimately, she allows the viewer only glimpses and shards of narrative. Instead of providing answers, Barton poses questions, leaving it to the viewer to create their own impression of the South.

A selection of Barton's solo exhibitions includes the Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans, LA; Perry Nicole Gallery, Memphis, TN; Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, MS; and the Alexandria Museum of Art in Alexandria, LA, among many others. She has also participated in many group and invitational shows in museums and galleries nationwide. In addition, she has received numerous awards and commissions, and her work is included in many public and corporate collections throughout the country. Barton received her M.F.A. from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. She currently resides in Flora, MS.