Barry Mason

Say It Loud #7 - Inherent Voice (2019)

Acrylic, spray paint & charcoal on shaped canvas

43 x 35"

"As a young boy growing up in Snow Hill, I felt an attraction to the awesomeness of the farmlands, the natural lines of farm buildings and the rich stories of my ancestors who lived in this historic area. 40 plus years later, art and those impressions still fuel my creative process.

I see myself as a "composer" when I construct my large shaped and sculpted abstract paintings. As I'm creating, I feel an ancestry spirit pulling me far back to an ancient African trail. I hear their chant and it motivates me to extend my creative reach and change the boundaries thru my love of shapes."

"Barry Mason states that he sees himself as a "composer" when he constructs his large shaped and sculpted abstract paintings, which are also vehicles for expressing that inner intersection where his admiration for Renaissance grandeur and aspects of his Afro-American identity merge in a potent personal synthesis. In this regard, given their vigor and symphonic sweep, Mason's paintings with their brilliant colors, dynamic irregular formats, and forms that (for their often, angular symmetry) hint at African folk motifs, can be compared to the music of the great American composers like Ellington and Mingus, who achieved an exquisite balance of jazz improvisation and classical composition" -J. Sanders Eaton, Gallery & Studio Magazine

*Proceeds from this sale also directly support the artist!