Jennifer Berk
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Artist Statement:
My favorite paintings are the ones I don’t know I’m painting until they’re finished. I remain open to possibility, painting what comes from within, letting the canvas guide me. Often, the result is a rustic and abstracted landscape. Most likely a pasture or open field, frequently remembered from my childhood or from my travels. I am drawn to the abstract and the outdoors. These paintings are mostly instinctual.
Abstract painting is a welcomed departure from life’s routines, schedules, and expectations. From the smallest task each morning, we have a schedule, a plan, a goal for what needs to be accomplished. Abstract painting offers an almost overwhelming amount freedom. A blank canvas. No directions, no expectations, no preconceived plan or image, keeping everything in a state of flux, fragile and bold. Painting is unknown territory, an act of discovery. I focus on the process, and am unconcerned with the final destination. My paintings stem from a dream, a journey of self, an exercise of faith -- to a finished product that will hopefully affect the viewer in a lyrical and personal way. My work is mostly abstract and gestural. Colors are rarely realistic or as they “should” be. Painting for me is a journey, preserving the color and richness of nature, figure or idea in a lasting image for years to come. I try to capture the excitement, the energy, the light, and the peace in the vistas or figures I am viewing – take everyday objects and transform them into something colorful and interesting.
Artist Biography:
Jennifer paints in acrylic and mixed medium on canvas and paper. After a 25 year career in marketing, Jennifer began studying abstract, landscape and figurative painting under a variety of accomplished, nationally known painters. Never having attended a school of art, Jennifer is otherwise self-taught.
Her work has been exhibited in a variety of juried and non-juried shows, including: The Waldorf School of Baltimore, (2006), Baltimore Hebrew Congregation (2006, 2007), The Towson Arts Collective (2007), Art Outside (2013, 2014), Sascha’s (2012), Cylburn Celebration of Art (2010-2014), The LOF/Gallery (2011), and The Myerberg Center (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012).
Jennifer’s paintings are in regional and local corporate offices and in private collections from Florence, Italy to Santa Fe, New Mexico.