Introducing the art of Barbara Berlin (Interview)

BARBARA BERLIN

DESTIG TORONTO - ART | DESIGN | TRAVEL - ISSUE 09 / JANUARY 2021

BEST OF 2020 | TODAY'S GREAT CANADIAN ARTISTS | SPECIAL ART FEATURES | HOT PICKS

"HOW MARVELOUS THAT THEY BROUGHT FORTH SUCH MAGNIFICIENCE FROM THEIR BRUSHES AND CHISELS." - ANONYMOUS

"I‘ll bring everything into the studio: joy/ sadness/ frustration/ worry/ peace... nothing is wasted and I’ll use it all to create. I am inside the canvas... I am fully present and the world disappears. I always need to go beyond the familiar, {that’s too easy}and to discover a new way to manipulate the paint... duplication isn’t on the menu."

0202 FO TSEB GITSED

Barbara Berlin has been making art for over 50 years.

colour-field artists of the New York School, the drips, the

When she lived in New York City in the 60’s she fell

exuberance, the pouring and the large-scaled platforms...

in love with Abstract Expressionism. It’s what the

I found it all to be immensely captivating and enticing. So

galleries were highlighting and she wanted to hang

much so that I enrolled in art classes. I began at The

these richly seductive paintings on her walls. As she

Museum of Modern Art and then at The New School. In an

could ill afford a purchase she decided to enrol in art

abrupt and unexpected change I found myself back in

classes. That decision opened the door to a life long

Montreal. I’ll admit that it took a while to readjust... taking

passion!

art classes at the Saidye Bronfman Center and meeting other artists provided the perfect remedy.

Give us a summary of your background and history I was born in Montreal and went to McGill University

By the late 70’s I was ready to rent a studio and I started

[BA ‘62] with a major in art history, followed by

to place my canvases on the floor... they became too large

MacDonald College for a teaching diploma [‘63].

for an easel. Often 2 or 3 canvases side by side and setting

I moved to New York City in the 1960’s when galleries

aside brushes, I favored sponges. I wanted a hazy water-

were resplendent with paintings by Pollack, Rothko,

colored effect and an imperceptible passage from one

De Kooning, Motherwell...etc. The flowing paint of the

tone to another. These paintings had the appearance of

watercolors - yet composed with oils. In 1980 I had my

rubber spatulas - (I am always on the lookout for any

first solo show in Ottawa at The Church Gallery, a

new tool that might hold some surprises as I often

reconverted old church with 30 foot ceilings, white-

frequent hardware stores).

washed walls, and skylights... it was an ideal place to hang those paintings - which one critic described as “soft

When I deemed it the ‘right time’ to approach a

as human tissue and as sharp as shards of glass.”

prominent Montreal gallery showing contemporary art, I met with Gerard Gorce of The Waddington-Gorce

What followed was a 10 year incubation period, a period

Gallery. I had two solo shows, the first in 1994 and the

of silence due to an emotional upheaval. Somehow when

second in 1997. Then during a trip to New Mexico I

I returned to to my studio another aspect of my being

visited with Larry Bell in his Taos studio. This

came forth... I replaced my sponges with metal and

relationship then led to Larry suggesting to his gallery

"The wonderful thing about abstract art is that it’s open to interpretation.

It requires someone to be open-minded, to allow the art to impact."

INDIGO, in Boca Raton Florida, at THE GALLERY CENTER that they show my art and they represented me for several years. I participated in a 3 person exhibit in 1996 [at Indigo]. Recently Larry purchased one of my paintings... “The paperworks are wonderful, the improvisation and spontaneous flow of the image are not at odds with the technique.” In 2013 I resettled in a small rural village, Morin Heights, nestled in the Laurentian Mountains just north of the big city. This setting has had a huge impact on my art and has enabled me to paint the art shown here.

INSIGHT INTO THE PROCESS I‘ll bring everything into the studio: joy/ sadness/ frustration/ worry/ peace.... nothing is wasted and I’ll use it all to create. I am inside the canvas... I am fully present and the world disappears. I always need to go beyond the familiar, {that’s too easy}and to discover a new way to manipulate the paint...duplication isn’t on the menu. And I innately require balance between the elements of soft/ hard and straight/ circular. Also, and most importantly, I want to create something beautiful and captivating, an image I’ll be happy to look at every day! I attempt not to take it all too seriously - to have fun and to feel the joy that creating brings and hopefully to transmit this spirit.

WHAT I FEEL WHEN I AM CREATING I feel several emotions when I am creating.... at the onset, when the image is often chaotic I ask myself: How shall I ever resolve this? And yet out of chaos something magical emerges. Then, of course, there’s the endless questioning: have I said enough? Is the image engaging? Should I stop now? should I add

"Most importantly, I want to create something beautiful and captivating, an image I’ll be happy to look at every day!"

more? Always a conundrum. For me the painting is simply not an art object... it’s alive and together we discover surprising results. Actually when I think I have finished I’ll ask the painting, “Is there anything you need?” Sometimes she suggests something and I’ll comply. When she says nothing I know this

"For me the painting is simply not an art object... it’s alive and together we discover surprising results."

conversation is over!

HOW I WANT MY ART TO IMPACT THE VIEWER I think that the wonderful thing about abstract art is that it’s open to interpretation. It requires someone to be open-minded, to allow the art to impact, to enter

the painting and to let the colors and the movement

paint! My art is extremely personal and self-taught to a

transport to another place, to give one’s own meaning -

large degree... it was a long struggle to reach the

be it positive or negative! It’s all entirely and immensely

knowledge I now have in my hands! I rarely frequent

personal and I want to enrich everyone’s experience

galleries and furthermore, if truth be told, I am not often

with art of all sorts. Because my art is abstract and for

interested in the art others are making... and as a result

those who might find it confusing I tell them “it’s not

everything you see is deeply personal and I think easily

about nothing... let your eyes fully engage in the

recognizable... it’s all been a wonderful and fascinating

transparencies, the compositions, the colors, and the

journey and the journey continues....

musicality of the piece... and allow yourself to have a visceral, cerebral, and an emotional experience."

WHAT ATTRACTS ME TO MY PREFERRED MEDIUMS

When I listen to music I allow the notes to infuse and

“THE PUREST AND MOST THOUGHTFUL MINDS ARE

wash over me and I want people to do the same when

THOSE WHICH LOVE COLOR THE MOST”

looking at my art... play with the shapes, colors, twists,

- John Ruskin, (Art Critic).

swirls... to see how it affects you... and I hope that the

I’m uncertain as to the validity of this statement,

vibrancy and the exuberance which I bring to the canvas

however, as the reason I make art is my love of color... I’ll

will transmit. After all: life isn’t just what you see it’s also

accept this endearing quote! I have always used oils

what you feel!

when painting on canvas... in the 60’s when I started painting, acrylics weren’t as popular nor as refined as

HOW MY ART HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS

they are today - and I love my oil paints... the richness of

I have been painting for 50 years! That’s a long time

the colors, the flexibility, the depth and the luminosity

indeed. At the beginning the images were simpler- more

all enthuse me. From the water-colored effects with

unidimensional. As I evolved and the art evolved with

turpentine to the density of thick impasto... and mostly

me I demanded more complexity - more layers to add to

the fact that they either dry slowly [much more so than

the richness and depth of the art. And there’s a security

acrylics] or I may choose to have the paint dry quickly

that only comes with age and especially experience.

with the use of certain mediums mixed into the paint.

There is no short cut to making interesting and arresting

When I paint on paper [and I use ARCHES 300 lb paper-

imagery. Waiting for the muse to strike is foolish. I think

the heaviest available] I prefer using transparent inks,

that nothing happens unless I go into the studio and

high-flow acrylics, and watercolors... and I apply the

"Often, really often I am queried: how long did it take you to do the art? And I always respond: ”50 years”.

That’s all I’ll say!"

paint with a variety of tools - sponges, applicators for

MY VIEWS ON THE ROLE OF ART IN TODAY’S

liquid paints, and even eye droppers... and am always

WORLD

looking for something new to expand my variety- I allow

I think that art has always had a specific purpose - or

myself much greater freedom on paper- and keep less

else why would it have survived for so long? It’s an

too as often the “experiments” fail! But these amazing

important mechanism for survival because it makes us

colors and varieties keep getting more and more

more attentive - to really look at what’s in front of us. It

seductive and I always find either new mediums to

raises consciousness. During the ongoing horrendous

explore and/or new implements to use.

upheaval from 2020, I think more than ever we need to escape all the ugliness which is presented on a daily

WHAT PEOPLE SAY WHEN THEY DISCOVER MY ART

basis! And looking at art is the perfect antidote.

Because my art is abstract... the following reactions occur: Either people ignore these large colorful canvases

HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED MY CREATIVE

hanging in my home, which is rare but does occur,

EXPRESSION

possibly because they are flummoxed or totally

I have been actively pursuing an online presence and in

disinterested. Often, really often I am queried: how long

the past have avoided it despite being aware of it’s

did it take you to do the art? And I always respond:”50

importance today. I still am stuck with the idea of studio

years”. That’s all I’ll say! Or - they will start to really look

representation and slowly adjusting to the new reality!

and will tell me about the images they see... limbs,

There has been a conscious effort to structure my time

torsos, faces, animals and then I know that they are

in the studio and to being mindful of creating a

engaged. In truth I never see anything remotely tangible.

headspace free of all the noise around. Then also the

A sex therapist living in New York City once purchased

thought of making videos and teaching the techniques I

an earlier painting for his office. He stated that he loved

have developed. I think it would be a natural for me to

the soft sensual images and especially the ‘floating

do so and by teaching I would gain as much as I would be

breast'.

giving.

"I think more than ever we need to escape all the ugliness which is presented on a daily basis! And looking at art is the perfect antidote."

"My art is deeply personal and I think easily recognizable... it’s all been a wonderful and fascinating journey and the journey continues."

HOW MY LOCATION INFLUENCES MY ART For the past eight years I have been living in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal. A county setting for the first time on a full time basis- we see deer, foxes, and a large variety of fowl. My art has always been colorful and I think it’s definitely more joyous, more playful and the lack of stress and happiness that country living brings has contributed to the art you see here... it’s also the wonderful ease of having a studio at home.

Website: www.barbaraberlin.com Saatchi Art: www.saatchiart.com/barbaraberlin