About Elissa Barber

Elissa Barber is an artist based in Hamilton, Ontario. She holds a BAA (Hons) from Sheridan Institute (2011) and brings over a decade of experience in the fashion industry—spanning buying, trend forecasting, product development, styling, and journalism—into deep conversation with her art practice. After years of engaging as a critical outsider, Barber now works at the intersection of fashion, identity, and visual art, collecting and analyzing archival garments and influential runway eras as part of her creative process.

Her multidisciplinary work spans drawing, painting, analogue printmaking, ceramics, and textile-based practices such as quilting, appliqué, embroidery, and beading. These processes are grounded in historical craft traditions yet remain fluid and contemporary, often favoring intuitive expression over technical precision to preserve the presence of the human hand.

Barber’s figurative work explores the complexity of the female form through a range of distorted and interpretive approaches—from contour-based minimalism to narrative and representational studies. Her depictions of the figure often combine figurative and literal layering techniques to develop depth, complexity, and nuance. The looseness and intuitive nature of her imagery become part of a personal narrative. Her fluid, line-based interpretations nod to minimalism and aim to capture the female form without imposing language or identity, inviting a more universal engagement.

Her practice investigates how identity is constructed, adorned, and constrained, treating fashion and art as cultural mirrors: tools that both capture and shape how we exist in the world. Recurring themes include contradiction, restraint, nostalgia, and the tension between heritage and innovation.

Inquire:

info@elissabarber.com