The Last Real Barber?

I do it every time. I start a series of something and I obsessively watch or read it with this insatiable urge to finish. (Yeah, sometimes even if it starts to suck really hard, as in the case of Scrubs.) It’s a compulsion. I must know every detail. I must see every second. I have to know how it all ends! Then it does and I’m left both accomplished in a weird way and saddened by the fact that there’s nothing left to look at. There’s no wizard left for Harry to fight, no way for Gareth to irritate Tim, no Charles Addams comic drawing I haven’t discovered. It’s the same with this Scott Barber exhibition at the Barry Whistler Gallery. Over time, the gallery has presented the late artist’s works in a chronological series of exhibitions and Scott Barber: Paintings on Canvas, 1995-1996 may very well be the final one. Perfect then, that this series is incredibly colorful, a pop imagery explosion marking his first year out of college. Ah, the freedom of true self-expression. A wonderful way to end the series…and yet, I know I’m not the only one wishing the series wasn’t over. Paintings on Canvas opens Saturday (with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and hangs through March 1. Barry Whistler Gallery, 2909-B Canton St., is open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and by appointment. Call 214-939-0242 or visit barrywhistlergallery.com.

Sat., Jan. 19, 6-8 p.m.; Wednesdays-Saturdays, 12-5 p.m. Starts: Jan. 19. Continues through March 1, 2008