Gallery Panel: Maya Barnstone

Maya Barnstone, Self portrait of me drawing myself in my room (2020). Acrylic on board, 55 x 60cm. Courtesy: the artist

ASHLEIGH JONES

Independent curator and gallery manager, Michael Reid Sydney

Peering into this intimate moment of a domestic scene makes me very aware of my footsteps on the carpet. Maya has successfully created an immediate indication that this is a silent moment, one of contemplation. Maya invites us into this private in-between moment. Her composition and naive and loose brushstrokes offer honesty and a sense of play in her painting.

KITTY CLARK

Saint Cloche Gallery, Sydney

Elements of the Surrealist’s apparition come to mind, especially with the exaggerated composition of objects and the artist’s self. The stretching and elongation of line and form emphasises Maya’s curiosity about interior space and presents a dreamlike aspect, bending and enhancing the perspective. There is a stillness and composure evoked by Maya’s placement of her human form within the space, the way the figure’s limbs lay stretched open and flat on the bed suggest there will be time spent sitting, thinking and being, revealing an intrigue in being present within spaces and how we relate to our surroundings.