Pablo Barba is a Chilean-born American artist based in New York City.

Bio

Born in 1985 in Santiago de Chile, Pablo Barba grew up in the Chile of the nineties, a time and place shaped by rapid change. As the country abruptly transitioned from a long-lasting dictatorship which had plunged its citizens into international and social isolation, the return to democracy was accompanied by the promises of consumer culture and the arrival of the World Wide Web. Barba came of age as an artist in a society that was eager to participate and connect on a global scale – and the Web became a portal through which to experience the rest of the world. In a country that had once been defined by limited access to information, he found himself mining the annals of art history and the Internet simultaneously. In his paintings, Barba combines classical tropes of figurative painting with gestures and themes drawn from contemporary digital culture.

Pablo Montealegre Barba earned an MFA from Columbia University (2016), an MA from Universidad de Chile (2014), and a BFA from Universidad Catolica de Chile (2009). His work has been exhibited at Galería Animal, Galería BECH, and Galería Juan Egenau in Santiago; at The LeRoy Neiman Gallery, The Wallach Gallery at Columbia University, The Fisher-Landau Center for Art, and The Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York; and solo exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles. He lives and works in New York.

Education

2016 MFA Columbia University, New York
2014 MA in Visual Arts, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile
2009 BFA Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago de Chile

Solo Exhibitions

2025 Black Friday, A Hug From The Art World, New York
2024 women laughing salad, A Hug From The Art World, East Hampton
2023 Genre Paintings, A Hug From The Art World, New York
2022 Live, Laugh, Love, A Hug From The Art World, New York
2021 Business Casual, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2014 Temporal, Gallería BECH, Santiago de Chile
2010 Terraza, Gallería Animal, Santiago de Chile

Group Exhibitions

2023 Syhpilis II curated by Adam Cohen and Anton Kern, David Lewis Gallery, East Hampton
2020 LOVE 2020: Perfect Vision, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, New York
2019 Presidents Day Soirée [Portray, Pray and Disobey], Lucas Lucas Gallery, Brooklyn. New York
2018 LOVE 2018: Purple Hearts, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, New York
2017 Bronx Calling: The fourth AIM Biennial, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York
2017 Cats Without Claws, Mom's, New York
2017 The Tyranny Of Common Sense Has Reached Its Final Stage, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, New York
2016 Finished Goods Warehouse, Former Pfizer Factory, Brooklyn, New York
2016 Columbia MFA Thesis Show, Fisher-Landau Center of Art, Long Island City, New York
2015 Floating Point, Judith Charles Gallery, New York
2015 Columbia First Year Show, Wallach Art Gallery, New York
2015 The Sump Show, Diogenes Brewing CO., Brooklyn, New York
2013 Nuu, Gallería de Arte Salón Loreto, Santiago de Chile
2013 Mesa para Dos, Galeria Balmaceda 1215, Santiago de Chile
2013 Stomachion, Centro de Estudios Coreograficos Santa Elena, Santiago de Chile
2012 Desde el Otro, Sala Juan Egenau, Santiago de Chile

Recent Press

Spending the Second Half of the Summer Out East? Here Are 7 Essential Shows to Catch, Cultured Magazine, July 22, 2024.

Pablo Barba Paints "women laughing salad." All in that Order, Juxtapoz Magazine, August 07, 2024.

Pablo Barba Makes "Genre Paintings", Juxtapoz Magazine, October 25, 2023.

Pablo Barba’s Carnival of the Grotesque, New York Times: T Magazine, M. H. Miller, May 01, 2023.

Pablo Barba: Live, Laugh, Love, Juxtapoz Magazine, Evan Pricco, May 19, 2022.

“Business Casual” by Artist Pablo Barba, BOOOOOOOM, September 24, 2021.

Pablo Barba: Business Casual, Air Mail, March 20, 2021.