Bucci's Art

JANET BERRIEN
acrylic paintings

December 14, 2002 - January 10, 2003

Email: janetberrien@hotmail.com

Artist Statement:

For the past twelve years I have been working as an artist in Berkeley, designing and painting tile murals for private clients and interior designers. Three years ago, I decided to begin shifting my focus away from custom tile work towards painting subjects that personally interest me. For the past year, I have been painting almost full time, showing and selling work out of my studio. Primarily, I paint in acrylic on wood, a firm surface that allows me to scrape back through the paint to reveal the underlying layers of color and texture. The painting is developed by fragmenting as well as building up the surface to produce an image with rich colors and vibrant energy.

The paintings shown here are part of an urban landscape series called East Bay Palms. I'm particularly drawn to the majestic palm trees we have in this area which are often juxtaposed with old and beautiful or sometimes just unexpectedly interesting buildings. When I find such a scene that interests me, I take a photograph. The paintings derived from these snapshots capture a moment in time and place and become almost portraits of these pairings. "Surface" is also interesting to me in terms of the content of these paintings. What we see are pictures of trees and buildings. We can only contemplate the stories behind the closed doors, the private histories behind the public facades.

While this series continues, I am also exploring other subjects. More intimate interior scenes, still life paintings with flowers and California landscapes are all competing for my attention, and so I have decided to mix all of them together in this show to represent the current direction of my work.

RESTAURANT & BAR HOURS
Lunch: Mon. - Fri. 11:30 - 2:30
Dinner: Mon. - Sat. 5:30 - 9:30

Bucci's Bar: Mon. - Fri. 2:30 - 5:30
Serving soup, salad, panini, cocktails, dessert