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We should all be visually curious like Paul Barbera

artists

27 October 2009

Paul Barbera is a great example of artist meets commercial photographer. Barbera has a long list of top agencies, clients, editorials and, in 2008, he was commissioned by a book publisher to document the work of a Dutch interior designer. This project took him from Naarm / Melbourne to Indonesia, Spain, The Netherlands and France.

Maybe it's because Barbera has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), in Naarm / Melbourne. Or maybe it's because he is always looking beyond, travelling a continued path of conceptual discovery that gives his commercial work so much more.

Barbera shoots interiors... His work is technically astute, and he still manages to capture warmth, stillness and intimacy. Barbera's work is voyeuristic, and a moment is captured through natural lighting, negative space and uncomplicated lens work.

From the day I met Barbera, he has always been searching, looking for the next body of work, maybe taking on too many projects, thinking fast and acting as if everything needed to be done yesterday.

Barbera is inquisitive and thinks from outside in, rather than inside out. I salute Barbera's energy to push harder for clarity, honesty and expression. Barbera is curious... I love that! We should be all visually curious!

Barbera has many projects on the go: interior work, lifestyle, stills and a great website of artists/creators in their space, titled Where They Create (www.wheretheycreate.com). "My name is Paul Barbera. I am an interior based photographer – I travel meet artists & creatives. This is a visual document of their creative environments."