Barbara Hines creates sacred space at the Museum of Biblical Art. Jerusalem, that city of limestone and God, is the subject of Mysteries, Signs, and Wonders: The Art of Barbara Hines, on view at the Museum of Biblical Art. It is also the inaugural exhibition of the Museum?s National Center for Jewish Art.
Born in Germany and raised in Australia, Hines grew up in a Christian home. As a teenager, she became a student of comparative religions and began incorporating Hindu and Sufi philosophies. She eventually became a practicing Buddhist, even serving on the board of one of the Dalai Lama?s organizations. But the revelation of her Jewish roots in the 1990s led her on a new journey. She says the discovery ?meant I had to rethink my identity.? She began to study Judaism in earnest and found a solid connection to it.
In the 1970s, Hines went to New York to study at the New York School of Design and the Pratt Institute. The former taught her to render in scale. At Pratt, she studied environmental design. At around the same time that she rediscovered Judaism, she decided to begin using her architectural drawing skills to paint cityscapes. ?Art is an expression,? she says, so choosing Jerusalem as her focus seemed to be the ogical choice. She says, ?At that time, my art was focused on landscapes. Using my architectural drawing skills was a natural lead-in to painting cityscapes.?
This body of work is an apotheosis of her years of study. After 15 years of living in London, she and her husband, international real estate developer, Gerald D. Hines, moved to Provence, France. Here, the possibilities for her work blossomed. She could work on large canvases outdoors and she could work on multiple paintings, making it possible to build up layers of paint. It also gave her the freedom to use a wider variety of implements. ?There is nothing more that I like than a huge canvas on my driveway and a huge roller on a five-foot pole,? Hines says. Spatulas and squeegees are also part of her tool kit. ?I use the brushes more to get the focus,? she adds.
The freedom Hines feels using these techniques is evident in the work. There is also a sense of experimentation. Filling most of the museum, the exhibition includes works on paper done in mixed media and even a sculptural piece in addition to the paintings. And rather than exclusively recreating Jerusalem?s most famous monuments, she focuses more on atmospheric effects. Underpainted with gold and then layered with rich plum and deep indigo, the work replicates the radiance of the city?s limestone buildings. ?My palette is more about a mood. I think in terms of warm or cool,? she explains. There is also a dimensional element to the paintings that is achieved from mixing soil from Israel into her pigments.
Jerusalem as a subject is not the sole domain of Jewish artists. However, Hines imbues her work with uniquely Jewish elements. For example, she signs most of the work B?Hines or B?H. The latter is the traditional abbreviation of Baruch HaShem, which translates to ?God bless.? Hines says when signing her work this way, ?I feel like I?m putting a blessing in each one.? She says that much of her work represents ?a progression from the physical of the land to the Torah stories and the great turning points in Jewish history, when God revealed himself in tangible ways.? This is particularly evident in the newer work, including several landscapes. Canvases measuring six feet such as I Will Be What I Will Be, depicting the Burning Bush, create a sense of immediacy.
This intention to make the divine portable and transport viewers to the Holy Land is also felt with You God are Forever, a triptych depicting the Western Wall. The Museum has installed it in their atrium, with rows of benches before it, creating a place of quiet contemplation. Hines says, ?Many people cannot travel to the Kotel (Western Wall). I want them to experience the awe and spiritual essence found there. I want them to be able to pray there and imbue that atrium with holiness.?
Hines?s inspirations are rooted in contemporary art. The work of Alexander Duncan, her teacher at London?s Heatherley Art School, has been a large influence. Additional inspiration has come from the Color Field work of Helen Frankenthaler, Gerhard Richter, and Paul Jenkins. And with studios in Houston, New York, and Aspen, she has constant access to contemporary art being made around the country.
In addition to being an artist, Hines is a generous philanthropist and humanitarian. All of the proceeds from her work are donated to charity. One of the beneficiaries in Houston is Aishel House, an organization that provides assistance and support to patients and their families who travel there to be treated at the Texas Medical Center. In Dallas, proceeds will be divided equally between Chabad of Dallas and the Museum of Biblical Art.
According to Scott Peck, the museum?s director and curator, the National Center for Jewish Art is ?dedicated to the exhibition, research, and study of Jewish and Israeli art.? Guiding him on this endeavor are heavyweights in the art world, including Edith Baker, artists George Tobolowsky and Tobi Kahn, and scholars Laura Kruger and Dr. Vivian Mann of the Hebrew Union College?Jewish Institute of Religion and Jewish Theological Seminary, respectively. Peck adds, ?We are very fortunate to have those people? on the advisory board. He is equally enthusiastic about having Hines as the inaugural exhibition. And Hines is delighted to be a part of this new beginning, saying, ?It is a great honor. It is an opportunity for the work to reach a large audience.?
Hines talks about diversity as a salad bowl rather than a melting pot. In a salad bowl, each ingredient retains its original form while enhancing the ensemble. And so it is with her work. Though painted by a Jewish artist, the holy city she depicts is one embraced by the visitors of many diverse backgrounds who come to experience it. –P