Ben Berns
American
Berns was born on May 15th 1936 in Ginnejen, The Netherlands. The son of a businessman, he began painting at the age of eight, encouraged in this endeavor by his mother. Disinterested in his academic studies, he quit school in 1950 and began working for a printing company. He later studied lithography techniques in Amsterdam. After completing his mandatory two years in the Dutch army, he went to Paris, where he spent five years painting and absorbing the latest trends in art. He came to the United States in 1963 after receiving an invitation to teach lithography at the Pratt Graphic Art Center in New York City (1963-64). Following this, he remained in Manhattan, supporting himself by building lofts in the Soho district, including a loft studio for himself. He also spent seven years as a dealer of Japanese prints and operated an art gallery.
Berns started out as an abstractionist, creating paintings and minimalist sculptures that reveal what would become a lifelong fascination with light. His work in this vein was shown at many important group shows devoted to contemporary art, including Documenta IV (1968), as well as in other thematic exhibits involving light, motion and space.
While creating his so-called "earthworks"-large-scale outdoor projects entailing the use of lasers and light constructions-Berns became intrigued by the topography and structure of the landscape and began making drawing outdoors. By 1973 he had turned his attention to landscape painting, going on to develop a crisp, sharp-focus style which he combines with a subtle balance of color and natural light. The artist's precisely-painted oils--in which forms and textures are so vivid that one can almost feel the sensations of wet grass and aromatic blossoms--depict a serene, almost timeless environment based on reality and fact rather than feeling: as he put it, "Self-expression has a tendency to muddle the issues involved . . . You can't let emotions get in the way of your painting . . . the truth is more important than one's little personal experiences." Accordingly, Berns favors a cool, green-toned palette and prefers to paint the more tranquil seasons of the year. He is also cautious about making overt references to the human presence, feeling that the landscape itself is sufficient, existing as a "section of the universe, and that's why I don't feel I need to put people, or too many houses, or roads in my painting. The presence of humanity is there-there's nothing you can do about it."
Berns had his first one-man show at Galerie 20 in Amsterdam in 1965. Since that time he has had solo exhibitions at galleries in New York City, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Atlanta, and Raleigh, North Carolina. His work has also been in included in numerous group shows--held in America, Japan and elsewhere-focusing on contemporary art, representational realism and recent trends in landscape painting.
The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1971, Berns taught at the University of North Carolina from 1970 to 1974 and from 1976 to 1982. He currently divides his time between Cheverly, Maryland and New York City. His paintings, sculptures and works on paper can be found in corporate and museum collections throughout the world, including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Coca Cola Corporation, Atlanta; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; the Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville, North Carolina; the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut; the British Museum, London; the Musée Cantini, Marseille, France; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; American Express Company, New York; New York Public Library; the Prudential Insurance Company; the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., among many others.
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