Katie Berberick Artist Statement

Different people are affected by our surroundings in many ways. For this reason, I leave my work open. I think of the paintings as a space in which we all have the opportunity to find ourselves.

As humans, the opportunity to gain self awareness is always present, but we do not always accept it. My objective is to capture the emotions that overwhelm us and knock us out of reality into a different world. I am exploring the environments, experiences, and situations that trigger our emotions; through this exploration, I am providing a space for contemplation.  My paintings become a reminiscence of our emotional complexities while expressing the inadequacies of our spoken language.

I begin with open intentions and few plans on what exactly my work will become. I rely on an understanding of the formal elements in combination with instinctive decision making while allowing the painting to take form. I use line as a way of translating the movement, space, density of the imagined conditions. I am drawn to colors that can be discovered in nature, and I am able to gain a deeper response to the work when the colors are manipulated through many layers of glaze. I work to find luminosity in my work through addition and reduction. Some layers will be retained and others will be lost in the process. In the end, I find out that nothing was ever really lost because it is still deeply inherent in the work. I function in a state of feeling and intuition, adding my presence in places where I feel the impulse to move in to. I work to build a space of fulfillment and to become committed to the art with every part of myself.