CAGEJune 1–30, 2026

Barbara Gothard
In my CAGE series, I explore contradictions through a series of symbolically autobiographical artworks focused on the subconscious. Influenced by the vibrant colors of Palm Springs and the majesty of the Mojave Desert, my practice includes large-scale oil paintings, iPad compositions, and installations. These works subtly reflect life's highs and lows through a dreamy, surrealist lens, inviting viewers to consider expectations amidst entanglements.

The CAGE series stemmed from my stay in a hospital room with a single wall-sized window—my only connection with the outside world for 12 days. It made me feel caged in, but not devoid of hope. As I began to recover and resume my art practice, I often thought about how entrapment can register on both a conscious and subconscious level. Not surprisingly, my work began to reflect that feeling of containment and contradiction. The result is my CAGE series—10 digital paintings that reveal a form inside of a fragile geometric frame, that seems to both emerge and unravel, as if freedom and restriction can occur simultaneously.

Light Becomes the Cage of Time I
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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Cage That Almost Contains
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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Light Becomes the Cage of Time III
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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Interruption
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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Constant Contrdictor
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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The Lure of the Vastness Outside
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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Light Becomes the Cage of Time II
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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I’m not delivering anything to anyone (Kharkhorin camp ladder)
2026
Ink, pastel and acrylic on paper
24 x 18 in

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Constrained by Memories of the Desert's Colorful Skies
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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Contained, Quietly Held by the Sky
2025
Digital painting, print on archival etching paper, archival ink
24 × 24 in

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About the Artist

Barbara Gothard

Typically, I paint with oils on large canvases. However during my recovery, I turned to my iPad; the CAGE series grew from this experience of healing and processing, from 2025 to 2026.

Determination amid challenges: my brush with mortality infused my practice with urgency and excitement. The complexity of my paintings—toggling between realism and surrealism, organic elements and abstraction—now feels even more metaphorical, dream-like, introspective and hopeful—conditions I strive to share with viewers.

Ever influenced by history, I find myself currently inspired by: Hieronymus Bosch (fantastic imagery and placement); the Dutch Masters—particularly Vermeer (masterly treatment of light); Gustav Klimt (elegant decorative elements); Georgia O’Keefe (contoured forms, subtle color transitions); and Magritte (ordinary objects in unfamiliar contexts). Against this collaged backdrop, I explore my inner vision as an artist. Often, I consider the words of Japanese author Daisaku Ikeda: “When we create or appreciate art, we set free the spirit trapped within. This is why art arouses such joy.”

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