“I tried to pick the paintings that I [didn’t] completely yet understand,” said professor John Berry when describing his collection of 26 pieces that are currently being showing in the Peeler Art Center’s Visual Art Gallery.
Peeler was buzzing on Tuesday afternoon as the doors opened on Berry’s exhibition titled "Image Loading." Berry has a Bachelors in Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Masters in Fine Arts from Indiana University. He teaches mainly painting and drawing classes, from introduction level to advanced studio courses.
The paintings being shown represent a years worth of painting. Berry took part in a month long residency in Vermont last year in which he produced all of the 8x10 pieces displayed in the show. The rest of the works were created in his personal studio. The methods and materials used in this collection include spray paint, scraping, sanding, silkscreen, acrylic, oil and latex.
During Tuesday’s opening and artist talk, Berry described his inspiration for these works as being “childhood cartoons, Byzantine/Russian iconography and a childhood fascination with small spaces.”
From an art history standpoint, Berry thought his work would be compared to that of neo-expressionism, but he says that when you label an artist with an “ism,” that “ism” always comes with exceptions.
“I think my style is gestural but also mechanical. It is driven by composition and improvisation,” said Berry. “It is something that keeps changing.”
Berry’s paintings are not planed, and they undergo numerous changes before they are finished.
Some pieces to look out for when visiting professor Berry’s exhibition are “Grave Digger,” “Spell” and “Pillar Party.” “Grave Digger” is not only the largest painting in the show, but the largest painting that Berry has ever worked on.
“Spell” is one of the simplest paintings in the show but it represents a quality that Berry said could be compared to that of a drawing or illustration instead of a painting. “Pillar Party” is colorful and engaging, a piece that Berry says is “good and good looking.”
If Berry could have the viewer leave his show with anything, it would be the idea that “a slow viewing experience does not have to be a boring viewing experience.”
“If you continue to look, the painting continues to reveal,” said Berry.
Berry’s gallery showing and artist talk are apart of Peeler Art Center’s punch-card events. Peeler brings in a series of artists and workshop events for DePauw students that are taking a studio art or art history class. These events are open to the entire DePauw community.
The next Peeler punch-card event is an artist lecture with photographer Chris Jordan on Monday, March 16 at 4:15pm in Thompson Theater in the Green Center for Performing Arts.
Berry’s work will be shown in the Visual Arts Gallery of Peeler Art Center from now until April 5.