Melissa Barber is an independent artist based in Canowindra, in the Central West of New South Wales.
She has mainly exhibited though her own galleries for the last 30 years, and has exhibited with a number of galleries in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.
She began her artistic career as a portrait artist. Her skill at capturing a likeness is also used in many of her historical paintings as well as in commissioned portraiture. She works in series format and there is a clear link in style development between each one even if the subject matter is very different.
Her work is renown for its combination of the use of gold and silver, a detailed, jewell like quality and photographic realism. Intricate pattern work interwoven with lavish use of gold and silver paint is predominant throughout her work. The union of the ornamental and the historical is another favourite theme, accompanied by the influence of Chinese, Japanese and Byzantine art.
Current work concerns itself with the transition of a four thousand year old culture, namely that of China, into the modern era. The paintings reflect a sense of timelessness, a sense of theatre, of role-play, curiosity and yet a deep sense of caution. Inspiration comes from antique photographs of Chinese culture from the 1800s and noticing how so many of those images could have been taken even centuries before the camera had even been invented.
Her paintings are in private collections throughout Australia, France, England, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Malaysia, China, and New Zealand.