When you see an artist’s work in person, there are always nuances of the unexpected as compared to seeing the work online. However, I was completely surprised when I was able to see Kimber Berry’s work in person recently at the Baker Sponder Gallery in Boca Raton, Florida. Her work is now showing in a solo exhibition at Exhibit By Aberson in Tulsa, Oklahoma, through June 7.
Originally from Los Angeles, Berry grew up surrounded by over-the-top advertising and the glitz of Hollywood. After attending the University of Southern California for a Bachelor of Fine Arts, she went on to get her Master of Fine Art at Claremont Graduate University. Her work has been shown in over a dozen solo shows since 1998, and she is presently represented at galleries all over the country.
Brenda Hope Zappitell: After recently seeing your work in person, I was amazed at all the mixed media that I did not see in your images online, can you tell me about your process and the materials you use?
Kimber Berry: The concepts behind my work dictates my process and materials. I work with the leading edge of technology meeting the old technology of paint. My innovation of digitizing paint and merging it with actual paint leaves the viewer questioning what is reality and what is illusion.
BHZ: On your website I saw that you seem to have two distinct series, liquid landscapes and plastic gardens. Tell me about each.
KB: Actually, I’ve created several series of paintings; Liquid Landscapes and Plastic Gardens are two intertwined series I’m currently working on. Liquid Landscapes are about the simulated environments created by movies, advertising and social media. I create a symphonic dance between the virtual world and the organic universe challenging the viewer to discern between them. Plastic Gardens is my newest series and it continues the dialogue I started with Liquid Landscapes, but in addition focuses on environmental issues. More precisely, how we as humans and a society relate to and manipulate nature.
BHZ: Would you say that your environment has had an influence on your work?
KB: My work is greatly influenced by this moment in history and the post-Internet globalized society we live in. Being a post-Internet artist, my art reflects who we are and our place in history.
BHZ: As a professional artist and mother how do you make it work?
KB: One of the most important things an artist can do is create a good work/ life balance. Society often portrays artists in a negative light in this area, using labels such as selfish, when in reality, artists are passionate, focused individuals. With that being said, we each need to discover a way of balancing art and family. For me it came in the form of a home studio that allowed me a more fluid existence. I can now easily flow between family and work.
If you get an opportunity to see this work in person, I would definitely suggest you check it out!
