Barbara White is a Wilson, North Carolina, based artist, Originally from the vibrant city of Johannesburg, South Africa, with a long career in advertising and promotion on the client services side, she brings a deep understanding of visual storytelling and communication. In 1985, she made the life-changing decision to leave behind the constraints of Apartheid and start anew in the United States. She has lived in New York City, Connecticut, and throughout North Carolina—each place contributing to the evolution of her creative perspective.

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Art has been a lifelong pursuit, woven through various mediums including ceramics, print, acrylic, charcoal, pastel, and ink. Barbara studied at the Hanes School of the Arts at UNC–Chapel Hill and took extensive classes at the Durham Arts Council. Her work has been featured in private residences and collections, shown in juried exhibitions, and is currently installed at The Harriss, a boutique hotel in Wilson known for its curated art experience.

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Beyond the canvas, Barbara transforms spaces with character and calm. Her gallery and studio, housed in a 100-year-old building she lovingly renovated—now known as The Edge Wilson—serves as a creative hub. There, she exhibits and curates shows featuring local and national artists, including her husband, painter and musician Sebastian Correa. Occasionally Barb will show her own pieces in the Gallery. Barbara also leads workshops in painting, drawing, and motivational journaling.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

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The politics of South Africa's Apartheid system left a deep and personal imprint on my worldview, and much of my work is rooted in that experience. As someone born into privilege within a system of inequality, I carry a responsibility to reflect on that complexity. My art is a often a response—not only to that past, but to broader patterns of oppression across the globe.

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Sometimes I am inspired to make art which explores my lifelong love of vistas and landscapes, using my imagination to conjure up the essence of what I remember, and the sense of being out in the open. The juxtaposition of the ugliness and the beauty we encounter, both in places and people, also inspires the core of my work. Grappling with internal and societal tensions: the dark and the light, the seen and the unseen, the right and the wrong.

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The ambiguous, Buddha-like faces in my paintings are intentionally undefined—neither clearly male nor female, and racially and culturally fluid. They represent a fusion of identities, suggesting that beneath our differences, we share a common humanity.

 

I often work on reclaimed wood and repurposed items, being a fan or using the materials on hand, and problem solving as a part of what I do. When using ink, fabric, and other mixed media I allowing chance and texture to shape the image. The process is as meaningful to me as the final outcome. However, acrylic paint and charcoal are my favorite mediums in which to work.

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Each piece I make is a personal reflection, a visual meditation, and a moment in time.