Traveling Abstractions - Barbara Neu

At Move Vino, an upscale wine bar in Port of Spain, every week shows work from an array of artists. This week it is an exhibition of oils by Barbara Neu, an American who resides in Trinidad and Tobago.

Just settled in for over a year now, Ms. Neu has lived in Europe, Africa and Japan and her observations on the landscapes has triggered a memory of turbulent energy. Her brush strokes exhibit a masculine quality which is unseen with paintings in Trinidad by a woman artist.

Only one of the nine abstracts was actually produced here, the rest where done in Tokyo, Japan. The painting titled # 2 is a mixture of cobalt blue and gray with accents of orange. It is the indication of what Chris Ofilli described this island to be, mysterious and an enigmatic.

With a rather dark pallet, the artist is capable to applying the pigments without contaminating them. Working primarily with blacks, oranges and light yellows. Her strokes are controlled as they zig zag or rotate across the canvas. With the diptych on your left, Ms. Neu says it is imagery found on the internet, the painting is of a fork which has the ambiance of an Italian visa.

Ms. Neu's on the other hand is slightly cautious to explore the hot vibrant country that Trinidad and Tobago is. She watched carnival on television this year but says next year may be another story with a fusion of reds. Barbara Neu at Move Vino is up for a week.