Merete Barker (born 1944) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

artist who uses sketches and photographs from her many travels as the basis for highly expressive paintings where it is often difficult to distinguish between nature and culture. She has received various honorary scholarships, as well as the Eckersberg Medal and the Danish Arts Foundation’s Lifelong Artist’s Grant.

Career

Educated at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dan ...

(1966-1973), she became a member of the ''Ny Abstraktion'' group in 1977 and in 1989 of ''

Grønningen Grønningen is a Danish artists cooperative whose members arrange exhibitions and similar events. Founded in 1915, it is one of the oldest and most important groupings of its kind in Denmark and currently has 54 members. It is named after the stree ...

''. Her abstract approach to recognizable subjects and themes combines the constructive with the expressive, often in minimalistic series of wood carvings and reliefs. From 1976, digital graphics became an important tool for Barker. At the end of the 1980s, nature's organic universe became an important concern. Journeys to New York,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

have been the basis for her paintings which build on the shapes and colours of towns and landscapes."Merete Barker", ''Den store Danske''
Retrieved 4 March 2010. She has also produced a number of decorative works, for example for the ''Specialarbejderskole'' in Aarhus (1985), which forms an integral part of the architecture. Her works are present in many Danish art museums. She was awarded the

Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The Ec ...

in 1995.

Bibliography

*"Min lange rejse. Merete Barker og maleriet", Ole Lindboe, Gads Forlag, 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Merete 1944 births Living people 20th-century Danish women artists 21st-century Danish women artists Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Danish contemporary artists Danish women painters Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal