An unsung hero of the art world, Barker was for many years the sole studio assistant to Howard Hodgkin, since 1995, a position he held until the artist’s death in 2017.
Barker describes himself as a narrative painter and invariably uses oil paint and collage, along with other mixed media, to explore formal concerns of the picture plane.
His practice involves using photocopied images, taken from his own extensive personal photographic library, which has been served by in-numerous visits to Brazil, frequent winters spent working with Hodgkin in India, and on one occasion, Sri Lanka. Barker’s specific interest in the picture plane derives from an appreciation of early Italian art.
