About the Artist

BIOGRAPHY

Helen Berger was born in London, England, to Russian émigré parents, surrounded by musicians, painters and singers. This environment gave Ms. Berger a creative foundation upon which she has thrived throughout her entire life. Even though she learned from her inspiring family and studied in Paris, London and Los Angeles, assisting established artists and attending numerous workshops, Ms. Berger considers herself self-taught.

After using many different mediums over the years – wood, paper, clay, found objects, fabric and photography – Ms. Berger now works predominantly with wood, paper and acrylics.

One of her many processes was to layer painted and hand-cut paper, and paint onto a wood panel, alternately layering and sanding the paint continuing in multiple sanded layers and to emphasize negative spaces. This work represents the artist bringing coherence, clarity and harmony to a chaotic beginning.

Ms. Berger’s latest series combines the use of vellum, gesso and acrylic applied to wood panels to highlight the elegance and simplicity of repetitive shape with clean colors and textural contrasts, creating a playful harmony within a very structured field.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My new series is much evolved from my previous work.

In the past, although I had a feeling of the intangible and of freedom when I worked, my quest was to cull from the vivid chaos of color and forms by repeatedly sanding and repainting many layers of paper and force it into a more peaceful, organized surface. It was an expression of the infinite complexities that I found surrounding me, and my desire to tame them.

Rather than being spurred on by a categorical statement, I was following an unformed artistic thought through to the end. The feeling of freedom and energy came from spontaneity, the love of color, form and composition and the nostalgia that these energies stimulated.

Color, form and composition, and the harmony their combination can elicit, vibrate as a grouping of musical notes might do and set off a nostalgic thinking process that first brought the experience of art into my sights. My musical and artistic family was the major creative influence in my life but also provided the personal trials of the colorful, complex and puzzling world I grew up in.

In my latest series I have taken this need to embrace and contain my memories a step further by developing my reactions to color and form to another level. I try to capture what I feel is the essence of my creative experience. I render my love of color, form and composition down to a minimum, and present it in a purer, simpler visual context – the grid. The result is no less emotionally complex but more exacting and subtle in its presentation and peppered with a touch of subterfuge.

LIST of SHOWS

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

Helen Berger has private collections throughout Europe – Denmark, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom and has sold her work extensively in the United States.

SELECTED CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

CSW, Los Angeles, California

Endurance Insurance Co., New York

Amber Bat, China

Royal Caribbean International, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

REPRESENTATION AND AFFILIATION

LAAA.ORG/ Gallery 825, Los Angeles, California

Lark Galleries, Los Angeles, California

Fresh Paint, Los Angeles, California