Contemporary Fine Art News and Advice from Agora Gallery
Lydia van den Berg / No Boundaries
Agora Gallery is delighted to announce a forthcoming solo exhibition by an artist whose works will put a spring in your step and joy in your heart. Lydia van den Berg creates lively, immensely appealing paintings that combine a mature world view with the imagination of a child. The result breaths hope and optimism, yet does not allow the audience to forget the realities of life. The exhibition will open on May 12, 2011, continuing until June 1, 2011. The reception will take place on May 12, 2011.
There is something magical about these creations, which convey the sense that they are providing a window into the world as children see it, but are too perfectly rendered and intelligently balanced ever to feel naive. A poetic freedom, a level of fantasy that somehow seems to transcend and illuminate the real, pervades the works, and makes it easy to see why the artist herself refers to her style as “Magical-Poetic-Realism.”
Travel has influenced Lydia van den Berg’s art, as her journeys in Northern Africa, Europe and Australia have provided new sources of inspiration and given her new perspectives on what she sees and creates. This aspect gives her work a universalist allure which matches perfectly with the idea that her approach reflects the maturing process and daily existence of human beings regardless of their background.
Narrative plays a vital role in these works, as the artist both tells a story and invites her audience to engage with it. This makes the impression of her art a more personal one, complementing her care for aesthetic concerns and broadening it to ensure that the charm is accompanied by meaning – one to which everyone can relate.
Lydia van den Berg has recently begun to extend her expertise into the production of tantalizing abstract representations. She puts the same thought and attention into these works as into her more figurative pieces, so that the results speak powerfully to the imaginations of her audience. She gives each work a title that provides a hint to what can be found within, like an intriguing clue to a rich and fascinating mystery.
The artist has faced many personal challenges in her life, and the shadow of these traumatic events can sometimes be seen in works that use a substantial amount of black paint to set the tone. Yet she has never allowed her experiences to make her bitter or pessimistic; instead, she continues to find pleasure and cause for cheerfulness in her family and her art. The works in this solo exhibition are testament to her courage and positive outlook on the world, and convey this feeling to viewers.
PUBLISHED BY AGORA Art Blog, 2011
WRITEN BY Agora Fine Art Gallery and Team – Chelsea, Manhattan, New York, United States
PHOTO IMAGE The Secret – 32”x 48”, Acrylics on French Paper BFK Rives, Solo Exhibition AGORA Gallery “No Boundaries”, Manhattan, 2011