Joe Barnes has always regarded his paintings as meditations, to be experienced rather than read. His work combines the quiet concentration of meditation with a focused intensity that makes color bloom.  Originally inspired to paint by living in Paris in the 50's, Barnes won quick recognition for his talent, winning the Emily Lowe Foundation award during his first year of painting. In that same year, he was offered representation at the Gordon Gallery on Fifth Avenue in New York, and was even given a Tribeca studio by his gallerist. By the early 80's, he was exhibiting extensively in Germany, as well as in other European countries and the United States.  From the very beginning, Barnes produced monochrome paintings, feeling that abstraction was best suited for evoking the sense of mystery he wished to communicate. From the late 70's through the early 90's, his paintings were entirely white. His motivation for making white paintings had to do with the purity of white, the concept that "less is more," and "the challenge to push the painting as much as possible." In the early 90's he began making drawings, using pastel colors. His current work, acrylic on panel, features colors that are at once soft and intense.  Current works are relatively small, ranging from 10"x8" to 24"x22". The choice of format is another variation on the "less is more" theme. Attention is drawn to a compact but extremely lively rectangle of color, in much the same way that a lens focuses diffuse light into a concentrated beam. As one viewer remarked about the Napthol Red painting in an exhibition, "it's the biggest small painting I've ever seen." Barnes succeeds in his intention to produce work that reflects "the element of silent, serene quietude." At the same time, his paintings speak clearly and insistently, bidding the viewer to step up and experience their vibrant colors. Joe Barnes has in many ways led a charmed life. After graduating from college as an English major, he left for Paris, intending to write a novel. Most of the people he knew there were artists, and the art world of Paris in the 50's was an exciting place to be. By the time he returned to New York, he had decided that he too wanted to be a painter. He didn't even know how to stretch a canvas, but he was not one to let such details stand in his way. For most people making such a decision, the expectation is for a long period of learning, followed by another long period of building a reputation. For Joe Barnes, it simply meant asking a painter friend to show him how to make canvases, and then plunging in. Within the first year, he had won the Emily Lowe Foundation award, and had acquired representation at the Gordon Gallery on Fifth Avenue in New York. His gallerist gave him a studio in what is now the Tribeca area. Such immediate and significant recognition of the quality of his paintings served as a confirmation that this was to be his life work. In the early 80's, gallerists from Germany saw Barnes's work in a New York gallery and paid a visit to his studio. His work has subsequently been exhibited extensively in Germany, as well as in other European countries and the United States. He was abstract from the beginning, feeling that a painting must have mystery and a Zen-like quality. His paintings have always been monochromatic. From the early 70's to the early 90's, he made only white paintings. In the early 90's, he began to make drawings in pastel colors, which once again attracted the attention of gallerists and collectors. The progression from pastels to the soft, vibrant colors he uses today was a natural one.  After the experience of the quiet intensity present in all Barnes's paintings, it comes as no surprise that he is a long-time practitioner of Zen meditation. Another place where he exercises his concentration is on the tennis court. He remarks that whether he is painting or playing tennis, he thinks of nothing else, "only what is before me and its challenge."