Barbie Kjar
“Learn! Go to classes. Learn about what you’re really interested in. Be part of a collective and get a studio.”
Barbie Kjar has established a national and international reputation as one of the finest contemporary printmakers in Australia. She’s good at drawing eyes!
Circe (2016)
“I like eyes,” Barbie says. “In high school I went to painting classes with [Tasmanian portraitist] Alan McIntyre. He showed the class how to paint and draw an eye. He did it so well. Unforgettable.”
“It turns out we’re a pretty arty little region,” I say.
“Maybe it’s those storms.”
“People usually say there’s something in the water, but maybe there’s something in the air?”
“For me there was always a lot of space. It gives you an opportunity to be imaginative. Because there aren’t things lined up to go and do or see. There’s a wonder in there.”
“Do you think you were a dreamer growing up in Burnie?” I ask.
“Yeah I do.”
In 2024 Barbie won the $25, 000 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize at the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Sydney. The work is called ‘No Expectations.’
No Expectations (2024)
Pictured with judge Sasha Grishin (left) and artist George Khut (middle) in 2024
