about

Howard Barker is an artist whose work is held in state collections both here and abroad, as well as by private collectors. the Victoria and Albert Museum holds pastel drawings which were exhibited in 'The Nude: A New Perspective.' His work has also been featured in galleries in London, Caen, Copenhagen, Rouen, Brussels, Paris and Vienna, in dedicated exhibitions.

​

Also a dramatist and poet, Barker's writing is published by Bloomsbury and has been staged at the RSC, the National, the Royal Court, as well as by his own company, The Wrestling School. For this ensemble, he designed sets and costumes, as well as directing classic works of his oeuvre, such as 'Gertrude: the cry' and 'und.' His theatre work is underpinned by theoretical texts such as 'arguments for a theatre' and 'a style and its origins.' His plays feature frequently in the international repertoire.

 

Barker's theatre techniques are visible in his art in the intense concentration on the body, in gesture, and in the interaction of figures. He has also developed a style for portrait. As with the whole of his oeuvre, Barker works in monochrome, employing a subdued palette but depending for its effects on stark contrast.

​