Barbara Epstein Gruber

About the Artist

A native of Baltimore, Barbara Epstein Gruber's early career aspirations were brought to an abrupt halt at age six when Mr. and Mrs. Epstein discovered her going full Rembrandt on the wall behind the living room couch. This Crayola-on-plaster endeavor went largely unappreciated, and it would be 30 years before Ms. Gruber began to paint seriously again. She attended Catonsville Community College, received a BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art, studied in the graduate fine arts program at the University of Pennsylvania and earned her MFA from Brooklyn College.  Her work can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the US, Europe and the UK and has been featured in numerous local and national publications. Ms. Gruber’s work has won Best in Show and Honorable Mention at national and regional levels by such esteemed jurors as Klauss Kertess of the Whitney Museum, Bernard Chaet, Samuel Hoi, George Gurney of the Smithsonian and Doreen Bolger of the BMA. She is currently an instructor at the Maryland Institute College of Art, The Johns Hopkins University and The Yellow Barn.  For the past three years, Ms. Gruber has been invited to participate in the Madonnarri Chalk Festival in Little Italy. Recently, she was a finalist for the William and Trafford Klots residency in Brittany, France.

Artist's Statement

I like looking at things. And once I start to look, things surprise me. My paintings and drawings are about light, color, air, touch and the experience of painting. They are painted directly from life, and they are about looking, about the particular vibration that occurs when one specific color is placed next to another. At their best, they speak to the abstract nature of vision, the way our eyes see in pieces of color and shape. Painting is like life-it is all about the relationships.