A peek into the unusual imagination of Microbarbi
The Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area presents the toy art of Microbarbi in an exhibit titled, “A Peek Into the Unusual Imagination of Microbarbi; An Exhibit Featuring her Fantastical Creations and Highlighting Rare Local Antique Toy Collections.” The opening is at 204 Church St. in Phoenixville from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, and those who attend the opening will receive a special pass to the exclusive wine and cheese after-party at the Colonial Theatre.
Vibrant, colorful, playful: such words could be used to describe Microbarbi’s work at first glance. Many of her clay sculptures and cloth figures could be puppets in a play meant to please children. But, if one is left to linger before the “Bodos” and “Rene,” more layers of meaning emerge. The array of fantastical characters will bring you down the rabbit hole, into the imagination of Barbara Carreño (aka, Microbarbi), where it could be said that her own version of Alice’s Wonderland takes a fantastical form that would surprise even the Mad Hatter and his cadre of misfits joining him for that preposterous tea party. “They are all about the emotions,” says Barbi. And she remembers, “I was so surprised that everyone loved my characters right away, when I first began creating them in Venezuela!”
Her toy art has been on display at COLAB “for kids only,” Philadelphia Museum of Art; Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Philadelphia; International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), NYC; “Tayner Boy, Custom Toy Show” at Sho Bcn, Spain Gallery, (a full year exhibition of custom toys) and “Kamaleon, Art and object from Barcelona,” in Bcn, Spain. Images of her work have been published in a variety of media, including The Book of Characters, which features many artists worldwide and is distributed throughout Europe.
Barbi’s latest creative project is the METÚ (mask). She represents the beginning of a new era of Microbarbi: she is the Goddess of self respect, self forgiveness and self love. This is what Barbara Carreño believes is so very important, especially in today’s world. She says, “It’s a mask that means to love your self, your ideas, and your creativity, no matter what.”
Also on display during this show, which runs through December 2017, are rare local collections of toys. One collection includes circus-themed toys, on loan from Bob Momyer, who traveled with The Greatest Show on Earth as a Magician and Professor of Clown School. In addition, rare toys of yesteryear on loan from David Meadows will be displayed for viewing.