The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
2024 Ohio Artist Registry Juried Exhibition
Mary Barczak
Mary BarczakBio
Mary Barczak’s life looks a little different. Her biological family hails from New York City and was heavily involved in mathematics and human rights. However at 16, she was put into foster care in Columbus, OH. Once out of the foster care system, she went to college at Ball State University, home of the world’s favorite artist, Bob Ross. She graduated with a BFA in photography and a minor in marketing.
Barczak’s earlier years were spent dissecting traditional fairytales and the story structures of character personality traits. Showing nationally with her photography of hand crafted paper masks and blindfolded adults going about their everyday life as characters from these traditional tales, she then turned her attention to painting.
Barczak works in themes that are based in the concepts on anonymity and sonder, the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. She weaves philosophy, storytelling, and art together to create the Nones, blanked face creatures with emotive black bodies. Their scenes speak to those who find their own stories and emotions in them.
Artist Statement
These paintings examine every day anonymity and the effect on society. By simplifying narratives and contrasting the complexity of human emotion, they offer an unapologetic viewpoint on life. This work questions how as humans there’s a vast array of reactions to similar situations, and explores how culture and experience color our views.