By Jasmin Shirley and Madoussou Kone
Barry Hazard Exhibit ( Rm 1B01 ) photo by Jasmin Shirley
Art holds different meanings for people. For some, it’s a form of self-expression, while others see it as a means of conveying emotions or ideas. Many find joy and inspiration in exploring or creating art, considering it a reflection of culture, beauty, and the human experience.
Viewing the art gallery in room 1B01 puts a spin on seeing traditional landscapes—in which photos form into a 3D picture that comes out of the frame. The artist Barry Hazard shares his work on atmospheric sculptural landscaping in the new art exhibit curated by Nicholas Fraser at York College. When interviewing Franser, a gallery director at York College, he mentioned that he knew Hazard personally since 2006 when they went to the School of Visual Arts together.
He also admired his work and followed his social media to see this same product flourish like it has today. One of the reasons Fraser decided to have Hazard’s art presented at the gallery was because he liked how the viewing of the landscape showed a different perspective on how life is viewed from a person’s eye. Hazard is an artist in Brooklyn, New York. He holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, a BFA from Tufts University and a diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. He is also a construction supervisor and youth worker.
Hazard makes sculpture-paintings and two-dimensional pictures. His work of landscape themes and narratives focus on familiar subjects of beauty and our relationship with nature. With his work you can see various landscape outlines like mountain tops, oceans, rivers, deserts, glaciers and forests.
“I like making sculpture paintings,” said Hazard. “It’s fun for me to navigate sculpture and painting at the same time. I am a residential construction supervisor, so building comes naturally to me, and sometimes I think I look at art as a builder.” One of the reasons he likes to create his work is so he can be universally appreciated.
“If I can make art that impresses my non-artist construction friends as much as it impresses my art friends, then I know I’m in a good place with my work,” he said.
Migration(2021) art piece by Barry Hazard -photo by Jasmin Shirley
When asked what it took to make these pieces, Hazard replied, “It is a huge range of how much time I spend on a piece. It could be really fast like an hour with some of the mini paintings. Other work can take a long time, like months. I don’t rush the work though, I recognize that each piece has its own timeline. If it’s moving too slow for me, I will just work on other pieces simultaneously.”
Generous Empire(2023) art piece by Barry Hazard -photo by Jasmin Shirley
Hazard said that art meant many things to him like expression, celebration, and reflection, but he believes that art is mainly a form of communication. It is a way of speaking that can’t be said in words.
Fraser said that one of the reasons he became a gallery director was that it became a way for him to control his craft. He not only works at York but has his own website that displays his recent art project and video shoots that he’s done in his career so far. “I am happy to share with younger artists so maybe they can benefit from my slow learning curve,” said Fraser. “First I will say that if you want to be a strong artist you have to find your voice, or your vision. Nothing matters more than your vision, how you see things. We all have something unique about ourselves and it is important to find those things, respect them and build off of those unique qualities. People love authenticity, and the best way to be authentic is to know yourself and be yourself—flaws and all. Try to think about what really matters to you, what do you care about deeply and what or who brings you joy and why. This is a good place to find out who you are as an artist. Take chances and don’t be afraid to fail. I still fail all the time and I have been making art for 30 years. It’s all about learning and discovering, that is what will get you to an interesting place with your work.”
