“Saw your work at Arcadia in Pasadena on Sunday. Your work is beautiful, your touch so exquisite. I was amazed by the work in charcoal, which I have always found impossible to work with, yet your work looks effortless. Just perfect. I hope to see you show in galleries in the future. There is no way iPhone screens can capture how magical your work is. This (‘Tear of the Moon, Portrait of Oriana’) was one of my favorites of the whole show. I love portraiture, and this one is so expressive and evocative.”
“It’s just incredible how you render detail, tones and light in oil and in such small paintings! … those moon roots put the hair standing on the back of my neck. Your paintings are always very mystical for me in a pagan way that makes the very familiar look very alien.”
“I think every accolade and exclamation has already been written. Your vision astounds, stuns, crushes.”
“... haunting me ... "Tear of the Moon" ... surely it's some sort of alchemy to turn burnt wood into this....”
"I love the way you see the world. Your paintings are imbued with poetry and sensuality and this essence of pureness and wholeness that I scarcely know how to put into words. They are simply sublime."
“Your work is profound. You are above and beyond this realm. You are not of this world.”
“You're a seam of gold waiting to be found. All art aspires to the condition of music - but yours doesn't aspire any longer - it somehow has choirs behind it.”
“You draw and paint as if you are blessed by da Vinci and Michelangelo.”
“The drawing is just beyond words. Every piece that I own is. They are all in my room for constant meditation - and I am sure they exert a very strong energy between themselves and create their own environment - they are on all walls, standing, leaning, hung...and speaking in tongues.”
“I'm starting to equate your drawings with Renaissance museum pieces - they should be owned by no one but should be in everyone's head.”
“Your paintings are achingly beautiful.”
“As for the drawing, I could look at it forever and never find a human hand behind it. It's probably the best drawing that's ever been done. Honestly, it's like sleight of hand - it's seems to be real, but it can't be real. How many levels of depth alone did you create? I'd like to thank you, but words fall short. Why is the world so slow to see your genius!”
“Thanks for being on this earth in this century. I love that some of your paintings are so small. I think that's genius! Small, simple but beautifully painted. Perfect!”
"I have surely run out of superlatives, so please forgive me if I have overused words like stunning, exquisite, amazing, awesome and beautiful to describe the paintings I've previously purchased from you! All those adjectives still apply to this latest one and then some! The colors are absolutely gorgeous!"
"... you have been instrumental in bringing beauty into our sad world ... if not material richness – certainly richness of the soul ..."
"... your beautiful painting. I love it. Sweet, romantic, thought provoking. The perfect balance of everything."
"Each of your paintings is a small priceless jewel, far more precious to me than any piece of jewelry could ever be. The time and meticulous attention to detail that goes into every painting, the subtleties of line and color, the nuances in light and shadow, all lend themselves to evoke a certain mood that transcends the artwork itself. I find myself transfixed while gazing at your plums and radishes and moonscapes and ethereal clouds and rocks. And when I look at them I am always transported to "a better place" -- wherever that place may be. I am so happy to have your artwork in my life."
"I feel like I'm sitting in God's lap when I look at her work."
“Does this light really exist? I don't think most people vibrate with such unique lighting.... they get sunlight and shadow - that's it... It doesn't even register initially - and you are contemplating rocks (here and aloft) in very strange lighting... It's very esoteric.”
“Omg. Just STUNNING!! I can hear and feel something. There is just a clear message from the stones through the clouds to that magnificent moon that I can't discern. Like voices in another room. Or the smell of night or a storm when you can't see outside. I'm a little sad like a deaf person when a group of people are laughing and you can't read their lips. I am verklempt but know the feeling. Keep going! You may break the code!”
“Your work is very beautiful, full of spirit, subtle but powerfully poetic.”
“The simplicity in your compositions is so interesting and the color choices you use and the subtleties within them are so thoughtful. Some of those fruit paintings you've done like the pears have left my jaw wide open. And those rock paintings... who knew that rocks could be so beautiful.”
“Only you could make a dirty vegetable look like ballerinas under the moon. Just stunning, Barbara. Once again I am in awe. They feel human. Like they each have a story.”
“What are those? Turnips? The moon looks wonderful with them- a fugue of circles.”
“I love the circles theme... life, cycles, moon... I could get lost in not only the beautiful imagery, but also the thoughts it pulls forth.”
“... it is just gorgeous. Who knew turnips had so much to say. Looking at it you realize that you never had an understanding of the moon and how it affects life.”
“Just when I thought you'd painted something quite unsurpassable with your ethereal rock/stone paintings, you managed to quite astonishingly surpass yourself with these ethereal roots.”
“I have been a fan of your artwork for a long time. I often take my students to your site to view your beautiful work. Few artists are able to express themselves with such poetry and sensitivity that can only come from deep within. Thank you for sharing your art with the world.”
“This is the best work, in this medium [charcoal], I have ever seen in my half a century of looking. Bravo!!!!”
“Your work is so otherworldy and imbued with feeling. It's quite amazing.”
“... painting came today. AMAZING!!! it feels like it should be behind an altar.”
“I have to tell you, too, that there are times when I am looking at the sky and say to myself, "It looks like a Barbara Kacicek painting." A little bit of a psychological "which came first" conundrum....”
“You are more in touch with that spirituality than most people on this planet will ever be in their lives. It comes through so strongly in your paintings.”
“Your work is breath taking. I'm mesmerized by your brush work and by the amount of space you achieve on such a small canvas.”
“Beautiful. What colour! What heart!”
“... heartbreakingly beautiful.”
“Todas são belíssimas e com um toque celestial!!”
“... the 31 plums (I am speechless with appreciation) and I read all your inspirations....you are truly a master of your medium. Thank you, thank you for the joy of even observing these little masterpieces up close!”
“Looking at your drawing 'Falling in the Garden' just amazes me ... not only because of your skill but the story you weave. I can see the connection you must have with the natural world and wanted to pay my respects to you for creating such wonderful works. Thank you for such an emotional presentation.”
“I am clear on this: your work is supernatural and the world needs to see it. Those portraits of Oriana are nothing short of miraculous. Physically I don't know how you draw those things.”
“There is an abundance of mediocre work, virtually everywhere today, and it is indeed refreshing to see the work of a truly gifted artist.”
“These are masterpieces. Period.”
“... your work is like magic. It's unnatural - or supernatural.”
“Jesus, I can't believe it's a painting -- you must have bionic vision in addition to superlative artistic talent!”
“I am grateful for the work I own of yours. They bring beauty to my life everyday.”
“... i am just dying over your paintings and drawings... They leave me speechless.”
“Every single piece is insanely beautiful...”
“Thanks again for your gorgeous paintings. They are all terrific and richer than I had remembered them from the computer. Many thanks again for your most prodigious talents.”
“Just wanted to let you know that [the painting] arrived in perfect condition, thanks to your ultra-careful packaging -- and it's just astounding! Fantastic composition, and ridiculously fantastic execution...!”
“I am often deeply moved by your paintings. I read recently that the purpose of art was the passing of an emotion from one person to another. If that is true, you have succeeded.”
"Artist Barbara Kacicek's luscious and lusty painting 'Pomegranate Moon', a superb metaphor on female empowerment, is so deliciously and explicitly erotic that it is virtually impossible to resist its heady allure. A lustily bitten pomegranate wedge lies beneath a bright crescent moon. Resplendently showing off her red fruity core, the pomegranate teases us into gazing at her raw earthy center. She seems to almost be taunting us, See here ladies (and gents), I did this on my own. Look around. This ain't your grandma's Garden of Eden. And there's no Adam here. So ladies, go forth. Thrive. Conquer. Endure. The moon, for her part, shines down in glowing admiration at her perfectly shaped, perfectly aligned crescent counterpart, allowing the earthy pomegranate to bask in her glow. After all, she is so worthy."
"Sidreus Nuncius is pure perfection. The absolutely flawless gesture of that leaf demurely caressing the crescent moon is achingly beautiful. And the dewdrop off to the bottom right side is just the right touch for a final coda."
"When one looks at Barbara's drawings and paintings one becomes quickly aware of the transcendent quality that she is able to capture and convey. I have been following her work for many years and continue to do so if only to experience the serene otherworldliness of her small in size but monumental works."
"Also lately I have been captivated by the recent paintings by Barbara Kacicek. Her ability to convey the rough texture of the stones along with the smooth skin of the pears is so inspiring. I like how hard the edges are in the painting, it almost makes it feel as if there is no air in the space of where the painting takes place."
“People who watch you are waiting for the next pearl to drop from your brush.”