(1960 - )
Barry Colpitts has been carving since 1989 and his work has become very popular with collectors throughout North America. His brightly decorated house has become a popular attraction for local people and tourists alike.
Barry has been featured in numerous magazine and newspaper articles and his environment was the subject of an episode of the Life Channel's "Weird Homes" in 2001. His work has been shown nationally and he was one of 30 finalists out of more than 800 entries in the Imago national art contest in 2002. One of his relief paintings was purchased by the Nova Scotia Art Bank in 2007. Barry's artwork was featured on the 2009 Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival poster.
Several of Barry's whirligigs were in the exhibition Going with the Wind: Whirligigs by Atlantic Canadian Artists at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick and two were added to their permanent collection. In 2014 the Acadia University Art Gallery had a solo exhibition of Barry's work called "Barry's World". Two of his chairs were recently donated to the Canadian Museum of History One of his carved chairs was added to the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Click here to see Barry's chair.
Barry Colpitts is included in several publications including the book Nova Scotia Folk Art : An Illustrated Guide by Ray Cronin now available for order at Nimbus Publishing at this link.His artwork was also used to illustrate a children's book which was published by Nimbus Publishing in late 2024. Barry is also one of only two Nova Scotian artists to be awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
