Barbara Beck

Barbara Beck is a visual artist. She received a Bachelor of Arts in studio art from the University of Minnesota and currently teaches courses in ceramics at the 92nd Street YMCA in Manhattan.

Beck’s work incorporates a large range of materials such as paper which she makes herself, pencil drawings, and fired porcelain that she incorporates into collages and then frames. Most recently she has been making woodcuts, small ceramic sculptural pieces, and lusciously colored monoprints. With a deliberate confusion of elements, she playfully manipulates space, planes, and illusion, enticing the viewer into the work.

Beck maintains a studio in Manhattan’s upper West Side where in addition to creating her own work she operates a small alternative gallery, Studio Gallery 88, where she exhibits artists who are underrepresented in the larger art world.

This bio/description was originally published in 2005 and updated in 2013. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).