Interview with Painter Barak Wrobel

 No. 03.0010, 24x30 in oil on canvas board, 2018
 

By MARCARSON October 20, 2025

Your paintings are so precise with their lines—what’s the most crooked everyday object in your home that secretly drives you crazy?

Unfolded clothing

If a child with crayons tried to “improve” one of your paintings, do you think you’d be horrified—or secretly impressed?

Children possess an unfiltered perception of the world. I’d be honored and welcome it.

Which is harder: keeping your lines straight on canvas, or keeping your life organized outside the studio?

The former is a manner of training for the latter

Your paintings balance precision and softness—what do you hope a collector feels when standing in front of one for the first time?

A desire to search for meaning

What do you see as the ideal setting for your work—private home, public space, or something else entirely?

No. 03.0036, 36x48 in oil on canvas , 2025

Wherever most useful. Sometimes at home on the walls so I can live with and learn from the work before letting go. Sometimes they want to be out interacting with the world. The work explores a universal language that transcends the individual experience. Accordingly, I am inspired by a purpose built sanctuary, where the work may be most appreciated by and have a deeper impact on larger audiences.

In the near term, many pieces will be residing at the Sojourner Galley (178 Bleeker Street) from October 21-26. The show is called “Interconnected” and also features a friend and sculptor, Alan Cary. We will open Tuesday - Friday in the evening hours, and throughout Saturday and Sunday. There will be a soft opening Tuesday night the 21st and a larger reception Wednesday night the 22nd.

Many of your works explore grids, stripes, and repetition. What draws you to these forms, and what do they represent for you personally?

The images are a by product of a process of integration and individuation. Being a conduit between the fabric of the universe and the universal experience of the individual.

If a painting of yours could whisper to its collector, what do you think it would say?

"What do you see?"

Let’s say one of your grids became an actual city. What’s the first rule you’d make for its citizens?

Live by your own rules and stay in your lane

If an alien landed and asked you to explain humanity using just one of your paintings, which would you choose—and why?

The painting below. It all starts here.

No. 03.0013 - 24x24 oil on canvas (2018)