77. Acrylic on board, 18 x 24 inches, signed Barbara Sullivan 2004 on back

77. Acrylic on board, 18 x 24 inches, signed Barbara Sullivan 2004 on back

Artist’s statement, 2004

I have been pursuing visceral, archetypal, macro- and microcosmic themes—particularly pathogens—and how in life what’s attractive or 
what we feel instinctively/compulsively drawn to is often dangerous but the attraction overrides the threat. Pathogens’ danger and their often-surprising beauty seem to correlate to so much in life that is dangerous but yet so very seductive. The desire for beauty/pleasure so often results undesirably (disease, violence, addiction, death, etc.). Simple, yet complex—cellular or cosmic, it’s all the essence of “life.” I often incorporate these subtexts within seductive pattern and color with the themes to be discovered in time. I prefer my work to be ambiguous so as to be interpreted personally by others, although they may have strong private meanings for me.