Barbara Tevarotto
About
Barbara T is a graphic artist passionate about social justice and equality. The journey to this point has not been linear. Born in Milan, Italy and trained as a lawyer, she left her home country in 1995 and lived in the Netherlands and the United States for several years before settling with her family in Vancouver, Canada in 2002. She switched from law to the graphic arts in 2000, while living in California. Only in recent times, Barbara has decided to explore her artistic side even further, and she is grateful to have found an outlet to express her inner self in a more intimate and fulfilling way. As an immigrant living in 3 countries different from her own, she experienced contradictory emotions, a sense of loss, emptiness and longing often combined with one of excitement, impatience and curiosity; and every step of the process has helped her redefine her identity and discover new ways to belong. As a talented young poet says: “You are not your roots, you are a flower grown from them” (Pavana Reddy).
Artist Statement
Art can be many things.
For some it is pure celebration of beauty, for others a lens that shines light over our personal struggles, and by revealing them and giving shape to our fears, guides us in overcoming them and finding our path. Art can convey intimate messages or target social issues and make people uncomfortable; in both cases it is rooted in the same fundamental desire: to activate change. By doing so, it will reveal us the person we want to become, the world we want to be part of. Art unites and connects us all as individual expressions of our common humanity.
To me art is all of this. It is healing, transformation, and growth through introspection and beauty.
And via its connective power, it generates participation, intimacy and empathy.
I hope my artwork can find its purpose in all the above. That is exactly why I am committed to making art a big part of my life.
Inspired by my personal journey and growth, my artwork explores very intimate themes, trying to answer fundamental questions at a very instinctual and emotional level. I use different media, but my art is characterized by a strong graphic component, combined with a bold and vibrant figurative style.