Barrie Jones RCA is a Vancouver-based photo artist.
His practice focuses on the human figure as a site of complex personal and collective identities, and on the urban environment and its many intersecting layers of social, economic and personal histories. His “negotiated documentaries” oscillate between social documentary and directed fiction. Jones draws no clear distinction between the “naturally occurring” and the “arranged”, often engaging people to “play themselves” in his works. The works resulting from this approach display a compressed sense of narrative and a sense of the familiar. Engaged with what Jones calls social studies, his pictures expose multiple economic, political, and social arrangements, often using the figure as a display for ensuing vulnerabilities.
Jones has long been associated with Vancouver and the University of British Columbia, where he received his BFA, before spending several years in Ontario, where he received his MFA at York. He taught at York University before returning to British Columbia in the mid 90's where he was an instructor in photography at the University of British Columbia until 2021. In 2017, he was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Art.
Selected CV
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2025
West Vancouver Art Museum, Barrie Jones: Urban Wild, West Vancouver, BC
2022
Kelowna Art Gallery, look don’t look, Kelowna, BC
2021
AHVA Gallery, Vancouver Work, Audain Centre for the Arts, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
2019
Lights Out Space, Berlin Project II 1945-2019, Vancouver, BC. Selected Exhibition, Capture Festival
2018
Lights Out Space, PORTRAITS Y/Z, Vancouver, BC. Selected Exhibition, Capture Festival
2015
Crating Party, Popup exhibition to preview works being shipped to the National Gallery of Canada, Vancouver, BC
Organhaus, Traces of Histories, with Phillip McCrum, Chongqing, China
2013
TopDown BottomUp Gallery, Studio Furnishings, Vancouver BC
2010
Becker Galleries, BARRIE JONES, Vancouver BC
2008
Soho Grand Gallery, Slip/Friction, with Manuel Pina in conjunction with CONTACT 08 Photography Festival, Toronto ON
2006
Paved Art, Service, Saskatoon SK
2005
Helen Pitt Gallery, New Work, (with All the Arms Around You: Adrienne Lai), Vancouver BC
2004
Artcite, Uniformed Workers, Windsor ON
2002
Richmond Art Gallery, Uniformed: Heroes to McJobs, Richmond BC
1996
Chatham Cultural Centre, Chatham ON
1992
Mercer Union, Toronto ON
1991
Art Gallery of Windsor, Young Women and Young Men of Canada, Windsor ON
1990
Artcite, Looking for Paradise, Windsor ON
1989
Forest City Gallery, Personal Rituals and Young Women of Canada, London ON
Forma Gallery, Trans Canada Bicyclists, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia
Foto Galerija Branko Bajic, Young Women of Canada, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia
1983
Founders College Gallery, Beyond Sensation, York University, Toronto ON
I.D.A. Gallery, Stories of My Work, (Photography and Sculpture), York University, Toronto ON
1982
Eye Revue Gallery, Toronto ON
1981
Optica Gallery, True North, Montreal QC
1980
Vancouver Art Gallery, The Canadiens, Vancouver BC
1978
Nova Gallery, Hockey Shots, Vancouver BC
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2025
gres art 671, FUORIPISTA: art, sport and winter, Bergamo, Italy
2019
Art Gallery of Windsor, Power Play: Hockey in Canadian Contemporary Art, Windsor, ON
2018
Art Gallery of Windsor, Look Again! The AGW Collection at 75 Years, Windsor, ON
2017
Vancouver Art Gallery, Pictures from Here, Vancouver BC
2016
Vancouver Art Gallery, Stare, Vancouver BC
2015
AHVA Gallery, Slippery Terms, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Gallery 295, Residual Noise, Vancouver BC
2014
AHVA Gallery, Outcomes, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
2013
AHVA Gallery, The Photo Show: 1969/2013: Exploring the Photo Conceptual Archive, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Art Gallery of Windsor, Other Electricities: Works from the AGW Collection, with Gu Xiong and Phil McCrum, Windsor ON
Artcite Gallery, 30 X 30 Part 1, ARTCITE 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Windsor ON
2012
Composites, Gallery 295, Vancouver BC
AHVA Gallery, It’s Fine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
2011
NOMASS Gallery, If You Make Art in a Forest, Vancouver BC
AHVA Gallery, Only when the Shades of Night Begin to Gather, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
2010
AHVA Gallery, The T ing is, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Organhaus Gallery, Three Voices, with Gu Xiong and Phil McCrum, Chongqing, China
2009
Koerner Library Gallery, Whatmatter, Faculty Exhibition, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
2006
Alternator Gallery, Beauty and the Beast, Kelowna BC
2005
Vancouver Art Gallery, Real Pictures, Vancouver BC
2001
Artropolis 2001, juried exhibition, Vancouver BC
OPEN SPACE, Mapping the Body Part 2, Victoria BC
2000
Charles H. Scott Gallery, Image and Light, History and Influence: Film and Photographic Works, Vancouver, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver BC
1997
Artcite, Oh Canada, Windsor ON
1995
Galerie B-312, Exchange Exhibition, Montreal QC
Art Gallery of Windsor, Southwest Biennial 1995, Windsor ON
1993
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Site Survey, Ottawa ON
Art Gallery of Windsor, Southwest Biennial 1993, Windsor ON
1992
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Beau, Ottawa ON
Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor Postcard Project, Windsor ON
1991
Art Gallery of Windsor, Southwest Biennial 1991, Windsor ON
1990
Gallery 101, Pictures of People, Ottawa ON
1989
Samuel Sarrick Exhibition, York University, Toronto ON
Art Gallery of Windsor, Southwest Biennial 1989, Windsor ON
Art Exchange, University of Windsor Faculty at West Virginia University, Morgantown WV, USA
1988
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, Great White North, Staten Island NY, USA
LeBel Gallery, Great White North, University of Windsor, Windsor ON
Michigan Gallery, South of the Border / North of Here, Detroit MI, USA
1986
Detroit Focus Gallery, Photography, Detroit MI, USA
Art Gallery of Windsor, Southwest '46, Windsor ON
Mercer Union Gallery, Projections/Dimensions, Queen Street, Satellite Program, Toronto ON
1985
ARC, Interior Rites: Domestic Scenes and Rituals, Toronto ON
Detroit Focus Gallery, Photography, Detroit MI, USA
Gallery 101, Small Works/Big Myths, Ottawa ON
ARC, Photography, Toronto ON
Hamilton Artists Inc., Re Union, Hamilton ON
1984
Charles H. Scott Gallery, Faculty Show, Emily Carr Institute of Art, Vancouver BC
Kamloops Art Gallery, A Fish Story, Kamloops BC
Faculty Exhibition, University of Windsor, Windsor ON
1983
Contemporary Art Gallery, October Show, 1078 Hamilton Street, Vancouver BC
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver: Art and Artists, 1931 1983, Vancouver BC
1982
Robson Square, British Columbia Government Collection, Vancouver BC
Shell Resources Gallery, People and Places: A Survey of Photos From 1840 to the Present, Calgary AB
Canadian Centre of Photography, York Photography Exhibition, Toronto ON
1980
National Film Board Gallery, Works in Cibachrome, Ottawa ON
London Regional Art Gallery, Young Contemporaries '80, London ON
1979
Kamloops Art Gallery, Vancouver Fresh, Kamloops BC
Western Front, Pin-Up Portraits, Vancouver BC
Pumps Gallery, Colour Xerox Show, Vancouver BC
National Film Board Gallery, 13 Cameras/Vancouver, Ottawa ON
Surrey Art Gallery, Worlds in Clay, Surrey BC
Focus Gallery, 3 Canadian Photographers, San Francisco CA, USA
1978
Vancouver Art Gallery, 13 Cameras, Vancouver BC
Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 13 Cameras, Regina SK
London Regional Art Gallery, Young Contemporaries '78, National Touring Exhibition, London ON
Klee Wyck Art Centre, Under 30 Show ,West Vancouver BC
1977
Presentation House, Under 30 Art Exhibition, North Vancouver BC
Fine Arts Gallery, For the Birds, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Burnaby Art Gallery, True Confections, Burnaby BC
Fine Arts Gallery, Faculty Exhibition, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Fine Arts Gallery, Bated Breath, Erotic Art, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
1975
Fine Arts Gallery, Five Years of BFA Students, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Contemporary Arts Gallery, First New York City Postcard Show, New York University, New York NY, USA
1974
Vancouver Art Gallery, Towards Costume, Vancouver BC
Fine Arts Gallery, Emerging, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
Vancouver Art Gallery, Scan 74, Vancouver BC
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October show: October 15-29, 1983; 1078 Hamilton Street, Vancouver. Vancouver, BC.: Contemporary Art Gallery of Vancouver, 1983. p. 69.
Barrie Jones, exhibition catalogue for Vancouver Work, Vancouver, BC: AHVA Gallery, University of British Columbia, 2021.
Bogusky, Alf and Vito Signorile. Borderlands: Art from the Edge. Windsor, Ont.: Artcite,1987. p. 90.
Farrell-Ward, Lorna et al. Vancouver: Art and Artists 1931-1983. Vancouver, BC: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1983. pp. 214, 276, 412.
Genereux, Linda and Robert Sherrin. Barrie Jones: Young Women and Young Men of Canada. Windsor, Ont.: Art Gallery of Windsor, 1992.
Lacayo, Jessie. Mapping the Body, Part One and Part Two. Victoria, BC: Open Space, 2001.
Langford, Martha. Beau: a reflection on the nature of beauty in photography. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, 1992.
O'Brien, Paddy. Young Contemporaries '80. London, Ont.: London Regional Art Gallery, 1980.
Starling, Dan. "Disclosing Methods of Production: The Work of Adrienne Lai and Barrie Jones." New Work by Barrie Jones & All the Arms Around You: Adrienne Lai. Vancouver, BC: Helen Pitt Gallery, 2005.
Todd, Jeremy. Uniformed: Urban Heroes to McJobs. Richmond, BC: Richmond Art Gallery, 2004.
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"Portfolio: About Place". Windsor Review, vol.29, no.1. Spring 1996: pp 58, 59
"Thirteen Cameras". Popular Photography, vol. 84, no.2. Feb 1979: pp 148, 158
"Thirteen Cameras". Vancouver Free Press, July 13-19, 1979. PP 19-22
Burf, K. "13 Cameras at the NFB." Ottawa Revue, no.144. May 10-16, 1979: p 15
Fischer, Hall. "Images from Canada." Artweek, no. 11. Sept. 22, 1979: pp 11 -12
Gore, Tom. "Thirteen Ways to Wrap a Board". Photo Communique, vol. 1, no.4. Mar-Apr 1979: p 19
Jones, Owen. "Youth transcends time in art." The Windsor Star, April 4, 1991: D10
Keziere, Russell. "A Collected Vision." Vanguard, vol. 7, no. 8. Nov 1978: p 6 7
Laliberte, Mark. The Windsor Salt. Juried compilation of inter-disciplinary work. Windsor, Ont.: Common Ground Editions. 1998. pp 112, 113
Langford, Martha. "More on Thirteen Cameras." Photo Communique, vol. 1, no. 4. Sept-Oct 1979: pp 14- 16
Langford, Martha (introduction). Contemporary Canadian Photography from the Collection of the National Film Board. National Film Board of Canada Still Photography Division. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1984.
Lawrence, Robin. "Photos turn dinner into a conceptual feast" Georgia Straight, May 2, 2005.
Malone, Judy. "Photo Essay spoiled by medium, not message." Vancouver Sun, Oct. 20, 1979. P 56
McRae, Rossalie Smith. "NFB exhibits world of Cibachrome Colour." Ottawa Journal. Feb. 23, 1980: p 40
Perry, Art. "Jones Bodychecks Cultural Conscience." Vancouver Province, March 17, 1978. P 44
Scott, Andrew. "Exhibition Needs Reason to Exist." Georgia Straight, Nov. 17- 24, 1978. P 23
Sharp, Danie. "Photography in an Art Discourse." VIEWS: A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Canadian Photographic Art, vol. 7, no.3. September 1990:10-11 and cover.
Townsend, Brian. "Vancouver Works In Kamloops: Art That's Coastal Fresh."
Wollheim, Peter. "13 Cameras at V.A.G." YVR, no.5. Dec 78-Jan 79: pp 15- 17
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13 Cameras/Vancouver. Vancouver: Collaborative Artists Photography Book. Print: National Film Board:, 1979. Unpaginated
Jones, Barrie. Cover Photograph. "Muse." Canadian Museums Association, Vol. XVII No. 1. 1999.
Jones, Barrie. "Hearts and Darts." Capilano Review, no.11. 1977: pp 26- 31
Jones, Barrie. "Pacific Salmon Series". Capilano Review, no.29. 1983: pp 38-42, cover
Jones, Barrie. "The Nakeds" Capilano Review, Series 2, No. 16 (Summer 1995):61-101, cover photo. 1995.
Jones, Barrie. "Hockey Cards." Vancouver Magazine, vol. 10, no.11. Nov.1977: pp 54 -55
Jones, Barrie. "Wish and Wear." Vancouver Magazine, vol. 17, no.1. Jan 1984: pp 30-31
Jones, Barrie. "Gels Angels." Vancouver Magazine, vol. 17, no.11. Nov. 1984
Jones, Barrie. "Double Looking, Double Happy, Double Lonely." The Wind, catalogue for solo exhibition by Xiangmei Su. China: Changshu Art Museum, 2012.
Jones, Barrie. Original work included in interdisciplinary publication Wayzgoose. Windsor, Ont.: University of Windsor (edition of 200). 1990.
Jones, Barrie. "Barrie Jones." Windsor Review: B&W Issue, vol. 46 no. 2. Fall 2013: pp 120-125.
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Art Gallery of Windsor
British Columbia Government Collection
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography
gres art 671
National Gallery of Canada
OMERS (The Ontario Municipal Employee's Retirement System)
St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver
The Canada Council Art Bank
University of Windsor, Faculty of Law
Vancouver Art Gallery
York University
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1998 - 2021
Photography Instructor. Dept of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
1985 - 1998
Photography Instructor. University of Windsor, Windsor ON
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MFA - York University, Toronto ON
BFA - University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC