press releases
Drawing Range
Diverse Approaches to Pen, Pencil, and Crayon
BOSTON, MA (JANUARY 2009) – DRAWING RANGE, ON VIEW AT THE BERENBERG GALLERY
FROM JANUARY 22 – MARCH 7, 2009 EXAMINES THE VARIETY OF DRAWING TECHNIQUES
WITHIN THE GENRE OF OUTSIDER ART.
Jonathan Lerman (b. 1987) was diagnosed with autism at age
two. With little ability to communicate verbally, Lerman began drawing at age
ten as means assembling his fragmented visual world. His charcoal portraits
are composed with a confident hand, filling the page with strong fluid lines
and dramatic shadows. Uncharacteristic of most artists with his level of autism,
Lerman focuses on the human face, capturing an intensity of emotion with sophisticated
understanding. Donald Mitchell (b. 1951) creates legions of
small figures by using a dense system of cross-hatching. Some are all but obliterated
by the hundreds of lines on the page while others freely float across a clear
field of white paper. Robert Kirshner (b. 1955) is an observer
of construction sites and the mass transit system. Combining pencils and crayons
and erasing and redrawing, his images confront the upheaval and grittiness of
the urban landscape. Rose deSmith Greenman (1898-1983) created
over 2,000 drawings during her seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Her delicately executed “doodles” and “imaginative sketches”
of domestic life were drawn on every available scrap of paper with whatever
drawing tool she could find. Scott Griffin (b. 1970) collects
scraps of metal from the streets and junkyards of Toronto. Using a welding arc
to burn lines in the metal he creates ghost-like images. The shape and color
of the metal scrap inspire the content of the drawing. Michael Madore
(b. 1954), who has Asperger’s Syndrome, holds an MFA in painting from
Yale University. His recent works using ink and acrylic include intricate studies
of brain activity, visual hyper-focusing, and the impact of sensory overload
on people with Asperger’s. Several artists in the exhibition create images
using only words, letters, and numbers. Yasmin Arshad (b.1974)
has a special affinity for grids and repetition. Using permanent marker on paper
and wood she sets out to document every date between the year 2000 and 3000.
John Patrick McKenzie (b. 1962) weaves together series of phrases
that read like poems and flow like musical scores across the page.
View
images from the exhibition.
Spindleworks: Celebrating 30 Years
BOSTON, MA (NOVEMBER 2008) – SPINDLEWORKS: CELEBRATING 30 YEARS WILL BE ON VIEW AT THE BERENBERG GALLERY FROM NOVEMBER 12, 2008 - JANUARY 3, 2009
Berenberg Gallery is proud to participate in the thirtieth anniversary celebration
of Spindleworks, a nonprofit art center for adults with disabilities located
in Brunswick, Maine. At Spindleworks over thirty-five artists work in a variety
of mediums, including painting, drawing, ceramics, woodworking, weaving and
other fiber arts. In addition, the artists write poetry and stories, make films,
and express themselves through acting and other performing arts. Their work
has been exhibited widely, and they are respected members of Maine's artistic
community. The exhibition features both established and emerging artists from
this remarkable organization. Rita Langlois is the oldest member
of the Spindleworks community, and perhaps the most renowned. She is a prolific
painter, whose colorful and whimsical works reflect the seasons, her moods,
and stories from her life. In her delicate watercolors wide-eyed people and
animals peer out from simple landscapes while the sun glances down quizzically
from the sky. Using felt-tip markers, Kevin Babine creates
dynamic text-driven works, which are daily narrations influenced by national
holidays, local festivals and popular culture. He is inspired by The Wizard
of Oz and vampire movies and also by New York City with its Rockettes and Macy’s
Thanksgiving Parade. The resulting works recall the boldness of Andy Warhol
and the timelessness of vintage of movie posters. Diane Black
is an accomplished and prolific painter. Most days she can be found quietly
working in her studio on drawings inspired by other works of art, as well as
portraits of men and women from her imagination. She is intrigued by many different
subjects and interprets them with her own expressionistic style. Steve
Mann has been weaving, embroidering, painting, and writing poetry for
over twenty years. His intensely colored A-frame camps, moose and polar bears
are powerfully executed with an abstract quality. Mann was featured in the short
film, 'King Kong in a Blanket' by Bruce Williams, which was shown at the New
York Film Festival. Sam Eberhart has plethora of superheroes
stored in his head that pour on to the page. Mona Bibber was
born and raised on the scenic Maine coast. Her upbringing is reflected in her
painted work, which has a strong emphasis on seascapes and animals. Though she
suffered a stroke in 1996, she continues to paint, now in a more fluid and impressionistic
manner.
Note: We are sad to report that Rita Langlois passed away in December 2008. She will be greatly missed.
View
images from the exhibition.
The Berenberg Gallery is Boston’s only gallery exclusively dedicated to the dynamic creations of contemporary folk and self-taught artists.
The Berenberg Gallery is located
at 4 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA
Hours are Wednesday– Saturday, 11am – 6 pm. For more information
call (617) 536-0800.