Josée Berlin

BIOGRAPHY

Josée Berlin has been painting since the 1980s. However, starting in 2018 the artist has dedicated all her time to her art practice. Working primarily with oil on wood panel or canvas the artist also experiments with creating paper and fabric objects as well as mixed media paintings.

A long career in design has influenced how the artist approaches her work. From subject matter to execution the artist designs a path for each artwork, each series or study.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT
My interest in fashion, interiors, and the garden absolutely inform what’s in my artwork! I am a lifelong maker, and my creative life revolves around the things that spark my visual interest. A color combination, a pattern, a piece of art, a runway fashion show or a beautiful interior and garden. This spark of inspiration fuels my imagination.

When I’m painting, I’m always drawn to the human face, the human figure and flora and fauna. My family and animals in my world are often found in my work but I don’t limit myself. I often use these characters to create the story of the piece I’m working on.

I love abstract paintings and my paintings almost always start with a wildly abstract background or underpainting. Figures almost always emerge. It is this fascination with the figure that drives my work. My subjects are often found in a moment of thought or reflection within a fantasy of patterns and textures. As I apply the marks to the surface and build the layers a narrative is developing. The process of layering the paint is quite meditative. It requires I step away and just look and wait a lot.

I love to use this time to develop other mixed media pieces that often derive from the painting. For example, a study of poppies grown in the garden and replicated in paper.