Barry Pressing

Barry "H.Fish" Pressing (born in 1948)[1] is an American-born contemporary artist and sculptor living in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. He is best known as H.Fish after his childhood nickname and his H.Fish Studios.

Barry Pressing
Born1948
San Diego, California, U.S.
NationalityAustralian
EducationUniversity of Berkeley
Known forSculpture and oversized paintings
MovementContemporary Art
Websitehfish.com.au

Early life and education

Pressing grew up in La Mesa, California, nine miles east of downtown San Diego, where he graduated from Helix High School.[2] He attended California College of the Arts in Berkeley, California[1] and graduated from San Diego State University.

Career

His artistic career began with creating poster art for Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.[3] In 1970, he opened a combination hot-rod shop/art studio called Hog Fish, so named after his childhood nickname. The studio was influenced by surf art, chopper and hot-rod fabrication. In addition, as a contributor at the time to the underground comix movement, he illustrated comics, including with psychedelic poster designer Rick Griffin and cartoonist Robert Crumb at the comic magazine Zap Comix.[1]

Pressing relocated to Australia in 2003, moving his studio there.[4] His artwork regularly appears in galleries and at art festivals.[5][6][3] In 2014, a collection of 34 pieces of his work that took two years to complete were on display at an exhibition titled "Visions" at the Manning Regional Gallery in Taree in New South Wales.[4]

He uses a series of odd-shaped canvases, along with a mixture of enamels, lacquers and urethanes. His inspiration comes from his "surfing heydays in the US and Hawaii in the early '60s" as well as "psychedelic poster art he created in San Francisco during the 'hippie movement,'" as noted by the Great Lakes Advocate.[4]

In December 2019 for one month, Pressing's contemporary works were on display at the solo H.Fish Art Exhibition at the Arcadia Gallery in Beechworth.[7]

Personal life

Pressing lives in Beechworth,[8] in north-east Victoria, with his wife Kerry.[4]

References
  1. "Art in the Area. Pg. 6" (PDF). Hallidays Point News. December 2014.
  2. "California's New Art Form". San Diego Magazine Publishing Company. 24 November 1973 – via Google Books.
  3. "Golden Art Fair Artist Statement Compilation, pg. 2" (PDF). beechworthartscouncil.org.au. March 2018.
  4. "VIDEO: H.Fish exhibits at Manning gallery". Great Lakes Advocate. 19 February 2014.
  5. "Brush Turkey Cafe exhibits artwork of Wootton local and international artist H.Fish, pg. 8" (PDF). Wootton Valley News. February–March 2013.
  6. "PHOTOS: Mid-North Coast magic No.11". Port Macquarie News. 21 February 2014.
  7. "H.Fish Art Exhibition". www.vic.gov.au.
  8. HOWIE, JANET (5 January 2017). "Artist swims through the waves of his time". The Border Mail.
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