"I‘ll bring everything into the studio: joy/ sadness/ frustration/ worry/ peace.... nothing is wasted and I’ll use it all to create. I am inside the canvas... I am fully present and the world disappears. I always need to go beyond the familiar, {that’s too easy}and to discover a new way to manipulate the paint... duplication isn’t on the menu."

​Barbara Berlin has been making art for over 50 years. When she lived in New York City in the 60’s she fell in love with Abstract Expressionism. It’s what the galleries were highlighting and she wanted to hang these richly seductive paintings on her walls. As she could ill afford a purchase she decided to enrol in art classes. That decision opened the door to a life long passion!

​Give us a summary of your background and history.
I was born in Montreal and went to McGill University [BA ‘62] with a major in art history, followed by MacDonald College for a teaching diploma [‘63]. I moved to New York City in the 1960’s when galleries were resplendent with paintings by Pollack, Rothko, De Kooning, Motherwell...etc. The flowing paint of field painters of the New York School, the drips, the exuberance, the pouring and the large-scaled platforms... I found all to be immensely captivating and enticing. So much so that I enrolled in art classes. I began at The Museum of Modern Art and then at The New School. In an abrupt and unexpected change I found myself back in Montreal. I’ll admit that it took a while to readjust...taking art classes at the Saidye Bronfman Center and meeting other artists provided the perfect remedy.

By the late 70’s I was ready to rent a studio and I started to place my canvases on the floor... they became too large for an easel. Often 2 or 3 canvases side by side and setting aside brushes, I favored sponges. I wanted a hazy water-colored effect and an imperceptible passage from one tone to another. These paintings had the appearance of watercolors - yet composed with oils. In 1980 I had my first solo show in Ottawa at The Church Gallery, a reconverted old church with 30 foot ceilings, white-washed walls, and skylights... it was an ideal place to hang those paintings - which one critic described as “soft as human tissue and as sharp as shards of glass.”

What followed was a 10 year incubation period, a period of silence due to an emotional upheaval. Somehow when I returned to to my studio another aspect of my being came forth... I replaced my sponges with metal and rubber spatulas - (I am always on the lookout for any new tool that might hold some surprises as I often frequent hardware stores).  When I deemed it the ‘right time’ to approach a prominent Montreal gallery showing contemporary art, I met with Gerard Gorce of The Waddington-Gorce Gallery. I had two solo shows, the first in 1994 and the second in 1997. Then during a trip to New Mexico I visited with Larry Bell in his Taos studio. This relationship then led to Larry suggesting to his gallery INDIGO, in Boca Raton Florida, at THE GALLERY CENTER that they show my art and they represented me for several years. I participated in a 3 person exhibit in 1996 [at Indigo]. Recently Larry purchased one of my paintings... “The paperworks are wonderful, the improvisation and spontaneous flow of the image are not at odds with the technique.” In 2013 I resettled in a small rural village, Morin Heights, nestled in the Laurentian Mountains just north of the big city. This setting has had a huge impact on my art and has enabled me to paint the art shown here.

"The wonderful thing about abstract art is that it’s open to interpretation. It requires someone to be open-minded, to allow the art to impact."

INSIGHT INTO THE PROCESS
I‘ll bring everything into the studio: joy/ sadness/ frustration/ worry/ peace.... nothing is wasted and I’ll use it all to create. I am inside the canvas... I am fully present and the world disappears. I always need to go beyond the familiar, {that’s too easy}and to discover a new way to manipulate the paint...duplication isn’t on the menu. And I innately require balance between the elements of soft/ hard and straight/ circular. Also, and most importantly, I want to create something beautiful and captivating, an image I’ll be happy to look at every day! I attempt not to take it all too seriously - to have fun and to feel the joy that creating brings and hopefully to transmit this spirit.

​WHAT I FEEL WHEN I AM CREATING
I feel several emotions when I am creating.... at the onset, when the image is often chaotic I ask myself: How shall I ever resolve this? And yet out of chaos something magical emerges. Then, of course, there’s the endless questioning: have I said enough? Is the image engaging? Should I stop now? should I add more? Always a conundrum. For me the painting is simply not an art object... it’s alive and together we discover surprising results. Actually when I think I have finished I’ll ask the painting, “Is there anything you need?” Sometimes she suggests something and I’ll comply. When she says nothing I know this conversation is over!

"Most importantly, I want to create something beautiful and captivating, an image I’ll be happy to look at every day!"

"For me the painting is simply not an art object... it’s alive and together we discover surprising results."
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HOW I WANT MY ART TO IMPACT THE VIEWER
I think that the wonderful thing about abstract art is that it’s open to interpretation. It requires someone to be open-minded, to allow the art to impact, to enter the painting and to let the colors and the movement transport to another place, to give one’s own meaning -be it positive or negative! It’s all entirely and immensely personal and I want to enrich everyone’s experience with art of all sorts. Because my art is abstract and for those who might find it confusing I tell them “it’s not about nothing... let your eyes fully engage in the transparencies, the compositions, the colors, and the musicality of the piece... and allow yourself to have a visceral, cerebral, and an emotional experience."
When I listen to music I allow the notes to infuse and wash over me and I want people to do the same when looking at my art... play with the shapes, colors, twists, swirls... to see how it affects you... and I hope that the vibrancy and the exuberance which I bring to the canvas will transmit. After all: life isn’t just what you see it’s also what you feel!


HOW MY ART HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS
I have been painting for 50 years! That’s a long time indeed. At the beginning the images were simpler- more unidimensional. As I evolved and the art evolved with me I demanded more complexity - more layers to add to the richness and depth of the art. And there’s a security that only comes with age and especially experience. There is no short cut to making interesting and arresting imagery. Waiting for the muse to strike is foolish. I think that nothing happens unless I go into the studio and paint! My art is extremely personal and self-taught to a large degree... it was a long struggle to reach the knowledge I now have in my hands! I rarely frequent galleries and furthermore, if truth be told, I am not often interested in the art others are making... and as a result everything you see is deeply personal and I think easily recognizable... it’s all been a wonderful and fascinating journey and the journey continues....
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​WHAT ATTRACTS ME TO MY PREFERRED MEDIUMS
“THE PUREST AND MOST THOUGHTFUL MINDS ARE THOSE WHICH LOVE COLOR THE MOST”  - John Ruskin, (Art Critic).
I’m uncertain as to the validity of this statement, however, as the reason I make art is my love of color... I’ll accept this endearing quote! I have always used oils when painting on canvas... in the 60’s when I started painting, acrylics weren’t as popular nor as refined as they are today - and I love my oil paints... the richness of the colors, the flexibility, the depth and the luminosity all enthuse me. From the water-colored effects with turpentine to the density of thick impasto... and mostly the fact that they either dry slowly [much more so than acrylics] or I may choose to have the paint dry quickly with the use of certain mediums mixed into the paint. When I paint on paper [and I use ARCHES 300 lb paper- the heaviest available] I prefer using transparent inks, high-flow acrylics, and watercolors... and I apply the paint with a variety of tools - sponges, applicators for liquid paints, and even eye droppers... and am always looking for something new to expand my variety- I allow myself much greater freedom on paper- and keep less too as often the “experiments” fail! But these amazing colors and varieties keep getting more and more seductive and I always find either new mediums to explore and/or new implements to use.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY WHEN THEY DISCOVER MY ART
​Because my art is abstract... the following reactions occur: Either people ignore these large colorful canvases hanging in my home, which is rare but does occur, possibly because they are flummoxed or totally disinterested. Often, really often I am queried: how long did it take you to do the art? And I always respond:”50 years”. That’s all I’ll say! Or - they will start to really look and will tell me about the images they see... limbs, torsos, faces, animals and then I know that they are engaged. In truth I never see anything remotely tangible. A sex therapist living in New York City once purchased an earlier painting for his office. He stated that he loved the soft sensual images and especially the ‘floating breast'.
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"Often, really often I am queried: how long did it take you to do the art? And I always respond:
”50 years”. That’s all I’ll say!"

"I think more than ever we need to escape all the ugliness which is presented on a daily basis! And looking at art is the perfect antidote."
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"My art is deeply personal and I think easily recognizable... it’s all been a wonderful and fascinating journey and the journey continues."

​MY VIEWS ON THE ROLE OF ART IN TODAY’S WORLD
I think that art has always had a specific purpose - or else why would it have survived for so long? It’s an important mechanism for survival because it makes us more attentive - to really look at what’s in front of us. It raises consciousness. During the ongoing horrendous upheaval from 2020, I think more than ever we need to escape all the ugliness which is presented on a daily basis! And looking at art is the perfect antidote.
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HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED MY CREATIVE EXPRESSION
I have been actively pursuing an online presence and in the past have avoided it despite being aware of it’s importance today. I still am stuck with the idea of studio representation and slowly adjusting to the new reality! There has been a conscious effort to structure my time in the studio and to being mindful of creating a headspace free of all the noise around. Then also the thought of making videos and teaching the techniques I have developed. I think it would be a natural for me to do so and by teaching I would gain as much as I would be giving.

​HOW MY LOCATION INFLUENCES MY ART
For the past eight years I have been living in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal. A county setting for the first time on a full time basis- we see deer, foxes, and a large variety of fowl. My art has always been colorful and I think it’s definitely more joyous, more playful and the lack of stress and happiness that country living brings has contributed to the art you see here... it’s also the wonderful ease of having a studio at home.


Website: www.barbaraberlin.com
Saatchi Art: www.saatchiart.com/barbaraberlin