Barbara Duzan is a Pacific Northwest sculptor whose practice spans two distinct disciplines: bronze casting and elaborate beadwork assemblage. She earned a BS in Chemistry and Biology from Western Washington University — she has said she cannot remember a time when she was not interested in art, though she was sidetracked long enough to earn that degree. She is also a licensed instrument-rated pilot who flew her seaplane through the San Juan Islands, an intimacy with Pacific Northwest wildlife at water and from the air that runs through her choice of subjects.
In African Queen, this whimsical reindeer sculpture presents a vivid chromatic study: brilliant red lacquer coating the body and elongated ears, contrasting sharply with raw wood patches at the joints and black hoofing at the legs' terminus. The artist employs a collage technique on the chest where hundreds of colorful beads—blues, yellows, whites, greens, reds—cluster densely, their disparate sizes creating tactile visual friction against the smooth, uniform surface surrounding them. The figure occupies center stage with splayed legs and an alert posture, while the beaded ornamentation sits frontally like armor or ceremonial regalia, anchoring our gaze at the animal's midsection. The work trades in cultural kitsch and colonial nostalgia under its ironic title, suggesting that decorative excess and saccharine whimsy can become their own form of critique. Her bronze works depict animals with precision and wit — ravens, herons, wrens, hummingbirds, mice — each caught in the specific posture of its species. The castings retain the evidence of clay modeling in their surface. She works across scales, from small desk bronzes like Wren Bell and Hummingbird Bell to larger wall-mounted pieces like Heron and Raven Cairn. The range of subjects reflects years spent walking Pacific Northwest coastline and trails, pockets full of whatever she found along the way.
The beadwork pieces are a wholly separate practice. A taxidermy form is covered in thousands of individually hand-applied beads, sequins, and found objects until the surface becomes something that is simultaneously sculpture, textile, and sustained devotion to material. Big Bear is the signature piece at JG: the bear that enters the studio emerges with a jeweled coat that has no precedent in either taxidermy or craft. African Queen and Bambino represent the same approach at different scales and subjects.
I think of my art as a journal. I can’t resist collecting treasures when hiking or walking the beaches — seed pods, pine cones, shells, rocks, sea glass. These make their way into my studio and then into my art as a reflection of the paths I have traveled.
