2017 DUMA Biennial artist, Beth Bird

Girl with Rhubarb
Beth Bird, Elizabeth, Illinois
Girl with Rhubarb, 2016, gouache, 28 1/4 x 24

Girl with Rhubarb is a short story of spring. It is the first fruit of the growing season. It marks the end of winter and hope in the future.

Beth Bird lives on a farm near Elizabeth Illinois so seasonal changes are noted because of the planting and harvesting of crops.  Not that we don’t all pay attention to the change of seasons, we all do, but how does the artist say it visually?  Without even thinking about it, color in our culture has meaning. We know that green represents hope, Black Death, rose joy, and white purity. All the colors used in this painting. Did she think about this as she did this painting?  Probably not. There is so much in art that is not said but what we collectively understand.

Beth bird is a Graduate of University of Iowa with a degree in Art Education and a graduate of Chicago School of the Art institute with a Master Degree of Art Therapy.