New Models is a series of portraits of young people in fast-growing Southern cities like Nashville and Austin. The images depict intimate encounters between pairs, charged with yearning, desire, and melancholia, and shaped by melodrama and anachronism. The process begins on Instagram, where Barreto finds models and ask them to invite a friend, creating a dynamic of collaboration and intuition. Together, they navigate poses and gestures, arriving at compositions that feel both staged and spontaneous.
The resulting photographs are steeped in ambiguity—moments of breakup, reconciliation, or unrequited love are suggested but never resolved. Dressed in vintage clothing and set against nondescript backdrops, the figures seem to exist outside of time, suspended in a “perpetual now.” The work reflects on youth as both an ideal and a fleeting reality, mirroring photography’s ability to capture the present as it slips into the past. Through these portraits, Barreto explore the beauty, intensity, and contradictions of youth, as well as its inevitable passing.
CV
b. 1987, lives and works in Nashville, TN
Solo Exhibitions
2025
Mise-en-scène, University of Notre Dame, Riley Hall, Notre Dame, IN
2024
Addie & Josh, Künstlerhaus Dortmund, Dortmund (DE)
DIY Dungeon, Spellerberg Projects, Lockhart, TX
2023
Endless Bummer, The Java Project, Brooklyn, NY
How Soon Is Now?, Random Sample, Nashville, TN
2019
Rockport, Spellerberg Projects, Lockhart, TX
Rockport, Popp Martin Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
2018
Rockport, Oveta Culp Hobby Library Gallery, Central Texas College, Killeen, TX
Rockport, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
Group Exhibitions / Biennials / Art Fairs
2024
Biennale for Visual and Sonic Media düsseldorf photo+, Düsseldorf (DE)
Porous, ICOSA, Austin, TX
The Kármán Line, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Greenville, SC
15 Years, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Los Angeles, CA
After the Dust Settles, Echo Contemporary Art, Atlanta, GA
Satelite Art Show, Brooklyn, NY
Future Now, FORMAT24, Leicester (UK)
2023
Polycopies, Paris (FR)
Up Close and Personal, Open Gallery, Nashville, TN
Head On Photo Festival, Sydney (AU)
Light Conversation, Oregon Contemporary, Portland, OR
2022
Spiral Bound, These Days, Los Angeles, CA
Unbound, Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA
In Another Life, The Humid, Athens, GA
The Nature of the Future, Leu Art Gallery, Belmont University, Nashville, TN
2021
Currents, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Forms, Frames, and Selves, Transmitter, Brooklyn, NY
Parts of Speech, Baxter St at Camera Club of New York, New York, NY
MFA Thesis Exhibition, Joseloff Gallery, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT
2020
First Year MFA Exhibition, University of Hartford (online)
Full House, localhost (online)
2019
The Universal, Filter Space, Chicago, IL
Profound Movement, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX,
Exposure Photography Festival, Calgary (CA)
2018
Seeing Harvey, FotoFest at Silver Street Studios, Houston, TX
Cork Photo Festival, Cork (IE)
Summer Sun Day Dream, The Lab at Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA
Public and Private Collections
Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA
Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Soho House, Austin, TX
Education
2021
MFA, Photography, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT
2009
BA, Art, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Bibliography
2023
Schmidt, Thyra and Norberg, Hannes (eds). “New Models”, Neue Fotografie (online)
2022
Stettinius, Gordon and Cole, Whitney (eds). “Unbound”, Candela Books (catalog)
Anderson, Eric Ryan and Potter, Kristine (eds). “Seen Nashville”, Sunnyside Projects
Meaker, Abbey, and Ordóñez, Cristian (eds). “Signals”, Another Earth
Soth, Alec. “Gathered Leaves Annotated”, MACK
Frailey, Stephen (ed). “Issue 30”, Dear Dave
2021
Schneider, Anna (ed). “Personas”, Booooooom (online)
2019
Smith, Miles. “Rockport at Spellerberg Projects,” Lockhart Post-Register
2018
Rich, Jeff. “Still Alluring”, Oxford American (online)
Carpenter, Tim (ed). “NET 2.8: What Will Suffice”, Oranbeg Press
Curatorial Work
2025
Hot Stove League, Arcade Arts, Nashville, TN
Lauren Taylor: How Deep is Down?, Neue Welt, Nashville, TN
2024
Luke Stettner and Skyler Brickley: Filling Airways Patriot Machine, Neue Welt, Nashville, TN
Scott Carter: Shiftless, Neue Welt, Nashville, TN
Lindsey Kennedy and Katie Ford: Chambers, Neue Welt, Nashville, TN
Austin Reavis: Red State, Neue Welt, Nashville, TN
Attention: Ripley Whiteside, Allie Horick, Liza Clement, Neue Welt, Nashville, TN
Brian Jobe: Pax, Neue Welt, Nashville, TN
TSA x TSA, Tri-Star Arts, Knoxville, TN
2023
Melissa Catanese: The Lottery, Tri-Star Arts, Knoxville, TN
2022
In Another Life, The Humid, Athens, GA
2021
Parts of Speech, Baxter St at Camera Club of New York, New York, NY
2019
Cristina Velásquez: New World, Spellerberg Projects, Lockhart, TX