click images to enlarge                                  Biography Barry Shapiro has lived on Richmond Creek in Peconic for the past thirteen years. It is the environment from which he draws his inspiration. He works predominantly in pastel and pencil. His work is straightforward and clearly shows his desire to achieve simplicity and naturalness in both his landscapes and portraits. His influences are as diverse as the Canadian naturalists of the ‘Group of Seven’ to the Pre-Raphaelites and even contemporary masters like John Curran. Barry is a graduate of Pratt Institute, with a BFA in painting and printmaking, and has studied with such renowned artists as James Grashow, Bill Toulis, Rudolph Baranek and Audrey Flack. After exhibiting at Brooklyn’s avant garde Burgerhaus Gallery, he eschewed the Manhattan art scene to travel extensively through America and Asia. His experiences in Japan, India and Nepal inspired a series of wood block prints that later were featured in a show at the Watermark Gallery in Kingston, NY. Upon his return to New York he began a career as an illustrator while continuing to pursue his own personal vision in prints and drawings. He was invited to exhibit at the prestigious Milton Free Library Gallery in Milton, MA. Later he segued into film and advertising as a producer and director of commercials,TV and films and has won numerous awards, including an Emmy and a Clio. Presently he continues his interest in film and art. His work has recently been featured at two Greenport galleries and a one-man show at the Cutchogue Library. The works exhibited here display a passion for color and spontaneity. As the weather and the water are in constant flux, he attempts to capture that change with a fluid style and quick, bold strokes. In addition to landscapes, Barry has a love of the human form. His colorful, oversized portraits display a majestic elegance that capture his subject’s intensity while displaying a kind of casual intimacy.