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30 Grove Street Peterborough, NH 03458 Sharon Arts Center Exhibition Gallery: SEEING IN THE DARK The Figurative Works of Rick Berry
Opening Reception Friday, August 7, 2009 5-7 PM, Public invited |
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PETERBOROUGH, NH - Sharon Arts is pleased to announce that a collection of Rick Berry's figurative paintings will be on display at the Sharon Arts Exhibition Gallery, 30 Grove Street in Downtown Peterborough, August 7 - 30. The Opening Reception for "Seeing in the Dark - The Figurative Works of Rick Berry" is Friday, August 7th, 5-7pm. Berry will be at the Opening Reception; the public is welcome to attend.
"The qualities of Berry's work are at once uniquely ethereal and thoughtfully designed. Their graphic quality represents a growing trend; the blend of fine art and illustration that is very current in galleries today." -Leonie Bradbury, Director/Curator of the Gallery & Visiting Artists Program at Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA "A stunning painter whose brush strokes simultaneously invoke movement and emotion_compelling" -Linda Laban, MetroBoston Artist Rick Berry breaks boundaries. Credited with the first digitally painted book cover in the world (Neuromancer by William Gibson), Berry is an artistic innovator. His powerful figurative paintings explore themes of humanity and politics, psychology, and the evolution of man alongside technology. Over three decades his work has been sought for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from social/political awareness messages; for example, four solo exhibitions for symposia at Tufts Institute of Global Leadership, to the multiple facets of the entertainment industry, books, comics, gaming, and including creating the award-winning CGI sequence in SonyPictures' Johnny Mnemonic, where he was Keanu Reeves' stunt double. Self taught, Berry began his career in underground comics when he left school at age 17, as founding member of collaborative group, Everyman Studios, Colorado. His works have been commissioned by DC and Marvel Comics, with author Neil Gaiman; for Stephen King illustrated novels; by numerous publishers such as Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins UK, Tor and Penguin Group: are showcased in several art books, and collected in two books of his art, Double Memory and Sparrow. Awarded a grant from Arlington Cultural Council, he is currently creating a graphic novel. This past September, he exhibited portraits at Arcadia Fine Arts Gallery in Soho, New York. After his exhibit at Sharon Arts, Berry's schedule includes group shows in New York City, both September 2009 and June 2010, and in Lucca, Italy this October. Berry doesn't pre-plan his painting. It starts with movement, active lines that sweep across the canvas. In fact his art is an exploration, an effort at discovery from the first mark, right through finish. Much as we see can shapes in clouds, Berry discerns patterns that trigger recognition or hint at narratives; then brings them forth. Without models, photos, indeed any external references Berry manages to draw and see things with such convincing clarity that it approaches clairvoyance. It's as if he can see in the dark. He seeks the viewer's engagement. Berry states, "I leave space for the viewer to collaborate with me. Giving the art personal meaning through diverse perspectives and shared cultural vision, the viewer completes the image." SPECIAL PREVIEW: A special preview of large charcoal works-in-progress from Berry's current project with OperaBoston will be on display to the public for the first time ever. This unique collaboration between visual artist and opera company is a first for OperaBoston, yet it seems a natural partnership for a company known for innovative repertoire choices and important but rarely performed works. Noted in the Boston weekend edition of Metro Boston (Feb. 27, 09) Berry was the "embedded artist" for OperaBoston's highly successful and wonderfully surreal opera, Shostakovich's "The Nose." We are pleased to showcase works inspired during the promising beginnings of this 2009-10 artist residency. SPECIAL EVENT: Berry will return for a special event: "Seeing in the Dark - An Art Gathering with Rick Berry" which takes place on Saturday, August 22nd from 4:30 - 6:00 pm at the Downtown Exhibition Gallery. The informal program will include a talk and Q'n'A session. The public is welcomed, no admission charge. Signed copies of Sparrow and Double Memory, two books of Berry's art, will be available for sale. Berry has taught at Tufts University, and at the Art Institute of Boston, he also lectures and holds private lessons. www.rickberrystudio.com Contact: Kendra Anthony 603.924.7676 kendra@sharonarts.org The mission of Sharon Arts Center, a non-profit organization, is to support and serve artists and craftspeople, to engage the community in the artistic process, and to foster the relationship between artists and the community through education, exhibitions, the promotion and sale of art and craft, as well as through special programs and events. Sharon Arts offers a wide variety of art classes and programs in the school facility in Sharon, NH, and has an Artists' Resource Center (selling art supplies), a Fine Craft Gallery, a Juried Artist Member Gallery, and an Exhibition Gallery in the Depot Square facility. Sharon Arts is sponsored in part by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation. |
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