Ainura Barron
Quilt of My Life

November 3 - December 29, 2022
Opening Reception November 4, 5-8 PM

Most of Ainura Barron’s work represents a visual journey that has involved the investigation of her personal identity and roots, as well as the exploration of her cultural history through a process that has relied on photographs, stories, and family traditions, such as crafting. She is particularly invested in examining her artistic instincts and how they connect to her cultural heritage. The influence of Barron’s cultural background can be seen in the materials used. As we all are products of our life experience, she includes her personal stories into the works using a range of media including paintings, graphics, collages, digital works, and illustrations. Incorporating elements of crafts into the paintings, due to their association with women and femininity, is also important to Barron.

For her, creative life is a constant search. Creating paintings is like an experiment. You get involved in the process, live it. And you never know for sure how it will end. The result is sometimes unexpected. When Barron works on a painting, the process is like a dance filled with light, color, rhythms, and codes. She’s trying to find the right path, feel the music and rhythm. As a result of this experiment, something new is born. It helps her get to know the world and herself better.

About the Artist
A native of Kazakhstan, Ainura Ashirova Barron lives and works in St. Charles, Missouri. She earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Missouri State University, and also holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Kazakh National Academy of Arts and a BA in Set Design from Almaty Arts College. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Poland, Kazakhstan, and throughout the St. Louis region including shows at Art Saint Louis, Foundry Art Centre, Framations Art Gallery, St. Louis Artists' Guild, St. Charles Community College, Springfield Art Museum, and Zeke Gallery.

For more than 20 years, Ainura worked in the area of art and education administration and art management. She worked for international not-for-profit organizations such as Aid to Artisans, USAID, British Council, and for the Public Affairs section of the US Embassy in Kazakhstan.

Through her career, Ainura had a chance to travel, see the world, and learn. She developed a broader understanding of arts and culture, which gave her the opportunity to obtain more knowledge that she could not have learned if she had remained working mainly in the studio as an artist.

This experience of seeing international art and working with contemporary artists has motivated her to go back and explore her creative self. In her works, she attempts to combine the knowledge she has gained into a specific investigation that cultivates not only her personal identity but also personal history and cultural meaning.

Quilt of My Life will be on exhibit through December 29th in the Ameristar Gallery, the home gallery of the Foundry Art Centre’s studio artists.