Blue Devil Notebook: Exhibit honors Cheryl Barnett’s 35 years as sculptor

When Cheryl Barnett ventured into university art departments in the mid-1970s, female painters and sculptors were considered a novelty by predominantly male faculties. At best, Barnett and others like her were a curiosity, at worst they were interlopers, moving into territory reserved for a more masculine ethic.

“Why do you want to get your master’s degree?” she was asked. “Aren’t you just going to get married and have kids?”

The bronze foundries of universities weren’t prepared for the likes of Barnett. The women’s movement was hitting its stride by the middle of the decade, but in university art programs, there was no one Barnett could lean upon for support.

“There were no women instructors to discuss ideas with,” the Merced College art professor said. “I felt misunderstood as an artist and discouraged by not being taken seriously, as if sculpture was for men only.”

According to painter Jamey Brzezinski, Barnett’s former colleague in the college’s art department, “Perhaps because of these early experiences in her art studies, Barnett’s mature work – bronze sculpture that range from small gesture studies to full-scale, life-size pieces – developed into a multifaceted examination of the nature of womankind.”

Now, with more than three decades of professional work behind her, Barnett is being honored in a major retrospective at the California State University, Stanislaus, University Art Gallery. The exhibit, “Cheryl Barnett – 35 Years in Bronze,” is on display through Feb. 27. Barnett will be present for a reception and artist’s talk Thursday at 6 p.m. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., and Thursdays until 9 p.m.

Commenting on her life as an artist, Barnett said:

“I choose the figure as my primary focus in sculpture for its universal identification, complexity and mystery. The human body conveys a multitude of implied messages in a simple gesture. I tend to gravitate toward elegant combinations of three: such as focusing on the female figure as the dominant subject, contrasting that S curve against a straight line to suggest a doorway as a subdominant element, with a third form being a small mysterious shadow or vase, as a passive shape, creating a three-way dialogue.”

Barnett is a fifth-generation Californian and a native of Merced. Strongly influenced by her mother, a professional pianist and music educator who often traveled to Europe to perform, she considers her mother’s love of music and travel as influencing her interest in art.

Among her recent gallery exhibitions, Barnett counts the Simmons Gallery in San Francisco (2005), the William and Joseph Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M. (2012), and the Erika Meyerovich Gallery in San Francisco (1986-87). She enjoyed the patronage of Eleonore Austerer, who owned major galleries in San Francisco and Palm Desert.

“I am very fortunate that the majority of my sculptures are sold and they are now in private art collections in numerous countries,” Barnett said.

Barnett continues to teach at Merced College, and shows her new work at the Ekasake Sculpture Garden and Gallery. A small sample of the artist’s portfolio can be seen on her webpage www.Barnettsculpture.com, along with her résumé, biography and process page.

For more information on the exhibit, call the Stanislaus State College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at (209) 667-3958

Student of the Month

January’s Student of the Month, Cynthia Russo, is described as “a motivated student who strives to do a great job.”

Russo would admit to more than her share of hardships. Despite an early learning disability and being the first in her family to attend college, Russo has persevered in her studies and blossomed as a student.

“There were some difficulties for me, because I did not always receive positive support from my family and others around me,” she said. “The college’s Disabled Student Services program helped me plan my future and within a semester I became a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society because of my grade point average.”

The foods and nutrition major would like to become an environmental health inspector.

“I do push myself to be successful, and I cannot wait for the moment when I graduate,” she said.

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Blue Devil Notebook: Exhibit honors Cheryl Barnett’s 35 years as sculptor."