David Barnett

2022
13 x 12 x 5 inches

Mixed media collage: found objects, watercolor, pastel, and printed matter on masonite.

SOLD

2007
14 x 10 x 3 in. 

Box construction: photomontage with watercolor and pastel, found objects, painted carpet thread, steel rods, hand made box with collaged pages from Franz Kafka's book The Metamorphosis.

2023
13 x 11 x 2 inches

Clay, colored pencil, watercolor, collage and found objects on board.

SOLD

2018
28 x 30 x 2 in. 

Mixed media collage: printed matter, hardware, pastel, watercolor, bird feathers, typewriter keys, vintage calipers and cardboard packaging on masonite.

2015
11 x 14 x 6 in. 

SOLD

Mixed media : Painted bass wood, hardware, used paint brushes and found objects.

I always knew there was a reason why I never discard a ruined paint brush.

SOLD

2014
13.5 x 33.5 x 2 in. 

Mixed media collage: printed matter, hardware, brass wire, springs, typewriter keys on board.

Keys from an old Olivette typewriter inspired this series of talented actors.

2021
34 x 10 x 7 inches

Bass wood, clay, plaster gauze, glass, fabric and lace, twigs, enamel and acrylic paint, and found objects.

This vessel is a tribute to our family dog Oscar. He died this year after giving us 15 years of companionship. It was a therapeutic endeavor to help with the grieving process.

2008
12 x 12 x 4 in. 

Mixed media construction: brass wire, glazed rice paper, collage, acrylic paint, tin packaging, watercolor, and found objects on board.

In this piece, the damsel's head is connected to a machine, making her invincible to the ills that destroy human anatomy. Immortal, she rises above her subjects below. Damselfly includes elements of fresco as well as images from aged medical texts. The damsels's head came from a discarded toy; her wings were made from soldered wire and glazed Japanese rice paper.

The soldered brass structure was based on the wings of a dragonfly.

2019
25 x 25 x 3 in.

Mixed media collage: printed matter, graphite, fabric, watercolor, acrylic paint, pastel, assorted hardware, transfer printing, soldered brass wire, modeling clay and found objects on masonite.

2014
27 x 26.25 x 1 in. 

Mixed media collage: printed material, pastel, watercolor, pencil and found objects on paper.

Based on my Fragments series I created a visual diary of my seven week artist residency in Brittany. Each day I would search for artifacts that could be incorporated as something symbolic and memorable.

2007
11 x 8 x 3 in. 

Box construction: brass rods, watercolor, hardware, pencil, found objects, carpet thread and collage on bass wood.

Top: Angel series / Jester
Bottom: Angel series / Madonna

2006 trip to Rome and Florence had a tremendous impact on my work.

2014
31.5 x 24 x 2 in. 

SOLD

Mixed media collage: bits of typography, hardware, printed material, springs, watch parts, vintage botanical prints, and found objects on masonite.

SOLD

2019
16.5 x 13 x 2 in.

Mixed media collage: printed matter, graphite, fabric, watercolor, pastel, assorted hardware, modeling clay and found objects on paper.

2016
20.5 x 30.5 x 1.5 in. 

Mixed media collage: bits of typography, old engravings, discarded scientific equipment. printed material, and found objects on masonite.

Cyclopedia is a commentary on the Information Age and the misinformation that has emerged on the Internet along with it. Traditional images—the bird and the Renaissance man—have been betrayed by technological elements. The piece’s nonsensical messages are, in fact, its very point. 

2016
18 x 15 in. each 

The Diva
The Entertainer
The Preacher

Mixed media: pastel, acrylic paint, found objects and printed matter on masonite.

2010
18.25 x 25 x 1 in. 

SOLD

Mixed media collage: printed material, hardware, pastel, preserved leaf, and found objects on masonite.

This piece was created after losing the original on Metro North. Happily the revision was an improvement.

Examples of Winged Adults, Workers, and Relations

2014
16 x 13 x 1.5 in.

SOLD

Mixed media collage: printed material, found objects and preserved moths on board.

SOLD

2014
14 x 16.75 x 2.5 in. 

Mixed media collage: pencil, printed matter, hardware, typewriter keys, and springs on paper.

Spare parts from my friend's Olivette typewriter come in handy.

2018
25 x 23 x 4.25 in. 

Mixed media construction: bass wood, printed matter, collage, clay, hardware, glass, varnish, rolled copper, pastel, tree branches, watercolor, and acrylic paint on masonite.

This concept began as a tribute to Albertus Seba's 18th century Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, and evolved into the question - where has rational reasoning gone? It seems in the last few years facts and figures - research (along with culture) is irrelevant. Our intellectual curiosity is in decay. Emotion coupled with reactionary thinking and self interest has replaced thoughtful analysis.

2009
17 x 27 x 3 in. 

Mixed media collage: botanical prints, calibers, springs, fragments from vintage passports and other printed matter on paper.

2022
9 x 18 x 3 inches

Mixed media sculpture: carved wood, clay, rice paper, assorted hardware, and watercolor.

2022
18.5 x 31 inches

Collage/drawing: colored pencil, graphite, assorted hardware, watercolor, pastel, and printed matter.

In every country, people get into arguments, hold racist views or suffer from mental health issues. But in the U.S., it is easier for those people to pick up a gun and shoot someone. The numbers tell the story. Just look at 18 countries that had the most mass killings from 1998-2019 in the developed world. The U.S. had the most, 101. France came in second, 8. United Kingdom came in last with 1. It all comes down to the same problem: More guns equal more gun deaths. We need to ask ourselves what are our priorities.

2013
16.5 x 18.5 x 1.5 in. 

Mixed media collage: vintage botanical prints and other printed matter, hardware, pastel, watercolor, pencil, painted electrical wire, and found objects on masonite.

2011
28.5 x 25.5 x 1 in.

SOLD

Mixed media collage: foliage, printed material, and vintage botanical prints on paper.

An unscientific study of tropical fish. I found the veins within a leaf to be visually reminiscent of the scales on a fish. My goal was to keep each leaf intact except for minor die-cuts to the surface, adding typography for an additional element of "credibility".

2009
15.25 x 15 x 5 in. 

Mixed media collage: printed matter, hardware, twigs, gears, pastel, pencil and found objects on masonite.

This piece was originally designed as a CD cover for the saxophonist Michael Brecker. It was meant to convey an artist with the proper equipment (a saxophone) can produce poetry.

SOLD

2013
17.25 x 13 x 2 in. 

Mixed media collage: printed matter, hardware, typewriter keys on paper.

A friend asked if I would like his old Olivette typewriter...

SOLD
No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 & 17 

2008 - 2012
7.5 x 10 in. each

Mixed media collage: printed material, hardware, pastel, pencil, and found objects on paper.

These small collages are made from bits and pieces that don't make it into my my larger works that are made from bits and pieces. It's like building a Rubik's Cube. I generally work on several at a time, moving the elements around until all the quadrants find their respective places.

2011
18 x 17 x 3.5 in. 

Mixed media collage: vintage botanical prints and other printed matter, hardware, gears, pastel, acrylic paint, electrical wire, and found objects on wood.

At times it feels like technology has been developed simply to make every task and social interaction we perform easier. How we meet our partner, how we interact with each other, and so much more -- it seems as though, with almost no effort at all, we're all connected. I imagine if Darwin were alive today his most recent published work might be entitled Reproduction of the Species by Unnatural Selection with the Assistance of Technology.

SOLD

2013
21 x 17 in. each

Mixed media collage: printed matter, hardware, pastel, pencil and found objects on paper.

Top:
Portrait of a Lady No.1

Bottom:
Portrait of a Lady No.2