BARNEY BERNARDO
Artist Biography
Barney Bernardo is a South African contemporary artist whose paintings are driven by storytelling, imagination and discovery. A self-taught artist, his only formal guidance came at the age of five, when his grandfather showed him how to “dress” the stick figures he was drawing. From then on, Barney was determined to develop creatively on his own terms, establishing an unconventional approach to painting that has remained distinctly his own.
Over a career spanning more than 25 years, Barney has exhibited extensively and undertaken numerous private and commercial commissions. Travel has played an important role in shaping his artistic vocabulary, with experiences across the world becoming the starting points for paintings and stories that range from encounters with people and ancient places to the raw immediacy of the African wilderness.
Barney’s technique is as unconventional as his imagery. He does not use paintbrushes. Instead, paint is poured or thrown directly onto the canvas and manipulated using a toothpick or sharpened stick. Rather than imposing a predetermined image onto the surface, he allows the movement of the paint to suggest forms and possibilities, waiting for the painting to reveal the direction it wants to take.
This intuitive process has its origins in childhood. Barney remembers spending hours discovering imaginary pictures in clouds, flames and the silhouettes of bushes. Today, that same instinct guides his paintings. Shapes emerge from apparently abstract passages of colour, gradually revealing characters, objects and symbols that may only become visible when the work is studied closely or viewed from different angles.
Colour and symbolism are fundamental to his visual language. Each painting carries a story, with colour selected to communicate its underlying emotion. Hidden forms create additional layers of narrative, transforming the artwork into something that continues to reveal itself over time. Barney draws inspiration from nature, history, fantasy and lived experience, alongside artists including Hester Versteeg, Pierneef, Jackson Pollock and Picasso.
For Barney, painting is ultimately an act of sharing. Experiences and stories that have moved him become the emotional starting point for works that invite others into his imaginative world. His paintings reward curiosity: what appears at first to be an energetic composition of colour and movement gradually becomes populated with unexpected forms, allowing each viewer to make discoveries and find their own story within the work.
Artist Statement
There is always a story behind my paintings. I have travelled to fascinating places around the world searching for experiences that touch my soul. It might be a courageous person standing against injustice, an ancient church filled with an extraordinary sense of history, or the adrenaline of encountering a lion only metres away in the African bush. These experiences are meant to be shared rather than kept within us.
Before I begin, I think about the feeling behind the story and the colours that could best express it. I allow myself to become completely relaxed, almost meditative, and then begin putting paint onto the canvas. I never use a paintbrush - I paint with a toothpick or a sharpened stick.
I do not plan exactly what the finished painting will look like. I throw paint onto the canvas and wait for it to begin speaking to me. Shapes and forms gradually emerge, and my imagination begins to recognise characters, objects and possibilities within them. The painting evolves from what is happening on the canvas rather than from a predetermined image in my mind.
My paintings contain layers of symbolism. Characters and objects are often hidden within the work and may not reveal themselves immediately. Viewed closely or from different angles, new forms can emerge, allowing the painting to remain alive and continue offering discoveries long after it has been completed.
I have been fascinated by this process since childhood, when I could spend hours finding pictures in clouds, flames and the silhouettes of trees and bushes. That sense of imagination has never left me. I want my paintings to invite people to look beyond what they see at first glance, discover something unexpected and allow their own imagination to become part of the story.
