Spotlight: Barbara Kleinhans

Barbara Kleinhans is a San Francisco based artist who creates beautiful, textured paintings. Her experiences as a child growing up on a farm in Wisconsin are evident in her work, which evokes a sense of expansiveness and wide-open space. Her paintings are rich in depth and layer and are minimal in color. As she notes on her website, her work is informed by "the boundless possibilities provided by a bunch of dirt-covered stones; the feeling of rough barn floors and prickly grass under my bare feet; of feeling contained within my surroundings." And the feeling of such simple sensations are captured so effectively in her paintings. She primarily uses acrylics to repeatedly build layers to create a textural quality that is rich. complex, and captivating. And I love that her website presents images of her art in such an inviting way.