| Jenny Berry |
Bio
I grew up near Detroit and chose an art school close to home never realizing that this would probably be one of the best career decisions I’d ever make.
I got my BFA from Eastern Michigan University, a good art school at the time but not cutting edge, luckily, because when I went to school in the 80s, at the height of Post Modernism no one there had any idea that painting had been declared ‘dead' and that it was uncool to paint things that looked like things anymore. So I spent years in those turpentine scented halls (we had no idea how toxic that was either) happily drawing and painting figures and portraits.
When I graduated I learned that galleries only wanted Contemporary Art, i.e. abstract work and conceptual pieces. So I decided on a double major in graphic design which seemed to me a better alternative than learning why a blank canvas with a coat hanger stuck through it is considered Art.
In truth, I'm a big fan of much contemporary art, I just never felt compelled to make it myself. So I really felt lost for a while, like I’d been betrayed by the thing I loved most. My drawing had always gotten me through the toughest times in life. I was always the class art nerd, I didn’t know how to reinvent myself to be a conceptual artist and I had no desire to.
I’d been drawing representational work since I was very young, I’d won quite a few competitions, even some internationally before I was out of high school but for me at least it seemed the old adage was true, you can’t make a living as an artist, you have to have something to fall back on. So I went to design school at Portfolio Center in Atlanta for a couple years and then worked in advertising at some of the top agencies in the world on some very fun clients for about ten years after that.
I loved working on big budget television ads and print campaigns, in fact the way I approach my paintings in the early, conceptual stage is a direct result of the "creative concepting" process I learned in advertising. But inevitably the corporate machine chewed me up and spit me out. Luckily I had my art degree to fall back on. Who would’ve called that one?
In the late 90s, while living in New York City I saw work in a major Chelsea gallery by John Currin and then while traveling through Atlanta I saw Steven Assael’s Club Kids on exhibition. These two things totally changed my life. A resurgence of representational art was happening but in a totally modern way.
Figurative realists in main stream ‘Art World' galleries and then, the breath of fresh air they called Pop Surrealism made me excited about doing art again. I started painting full time in 2004 and since then have had the incredibly good fortune to have my paintings added to collections all over the world. I’ve had my art featured on television, in movies, modern art books and magazines.
I lived and worked in New Mexico for most of my art career but last year I moved to Florida to be near family. I currently work out of my studio in Englewood just south of Sarasota on the Gulf Coast.
Artist's Statement
I’m very excited about my current body of work. I see it as residing somewhere between classical realism and the more imaginative realms of Pop Surrealism. These paintings are narratives, often set in imaginary worlds but punctuated with very real and ubiquitous items of our culture and times.
These things, products, brands and common household items have become so much a part of our lives that they're almost invisible, yet their presence in a painting immediately changes the relationship of every other thing on the canvas. Even if we don't speak the same language we can both smile at the implications of an egg beater in a chicken's hand as she sits placidly next to her chick.
I like to use these things as catalysts to the narrative of my work, even if I'm not always sure how they'll be catalytic. Sometimes I add them at the very last minute simply because as I paint I find myself thinking about them. If an item keeps popping into my head after a few days, I add it and consider later what it's about.
With these works, it's the idea of connection that interests me most. That instant connection we make with these things and consequently with each other is something I strive for. Connection is vital, it satisfies the very human need for belonging, for not feeling alone. Just seeing a toy or a something like a cereal box from my childhood can transport me back there instantly and when I successfully connect with someone who remembers that same box I get to bring them along for the ride and at the same time, take them somewhere completely new. -JB
Contact us directly to add Jenny Berry to your collection at 505.820.0788 or email to Sharla@popsantafe.com.
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