Works

Julia Zanes - A Bird Flew in the Window - 2011
48x48 inches Mixed media on panel

Exhibition Details

Timothy Berry: A Paradise Lost

Julia Zanes: The Golden Game

Clark Gallery is honored to present new work by California based Timothy Berry and Vermont artist Julia Zanes. Although Berry and Zanes approach their work from different perspectives, each has succeeded in creating deeply satisfying visionary landscapes. There is an underlying duality in the work of both artists as each tries to balance carefully crafted imagery with an intuitive approach to materials and composition. The rules of the game no longer apply as objects float freely through space. Their work invites the viewer to linger and richly rewards those who do. All are invited to join the artists for an opening reception on Saturday, January 7, from 4-6 pm. The exhibition will remain on view through January 29, 1012.

Julia Zanes’ richly patterned paintings open the door to a “dream world” in which figures and ground coalesce in strange new ways. Finding inspiration in a wide range of sources, most notably the rich jewel tones of the early Renaissance and naïve approach of early American samplers, Julia Zanes seamlessly weaves ambiguous architectural forms with verdant plants. The result is a world unlike any other. Despite the wealth of symbols, texture, color and variety of mark making, there is an unmistakable note of symmetry providing balance and calm to multiple layers of pattern and texture. Working within a long established tradition of narrative, her paintings are an “attempt to go into those moments between sense and non-sense, when storytelling is at its most urgent.”

Educated at the Art Institute of Chicago, Julia Zanes has exhibited her work throughout the New England region as well as in Canada, New Orleans and Chicago. A Vermont resident, Zanes along with her husband and fellow artist Donald Saaf, founded The Bluebeard Theater. Zanes and Saaf were recently commissioned to create a suite of site-specific artwork for the newly renovated  Brattleboro Courthouse, which draw’s attention to the state’s local history and natural beauty.

Timothy Berry’s work extols the simple beauty of solitary flowers and leaves suspended in space. His approach relies on both his intimate knowledge of printmaking and his exceptional drawing skills. Using wax to lay the groundwork, Berry loosely paints the floral substructure of his lush psychological landscapes onto large sheets of rice paper. These sheets of paper are then repeatedly stained with thin washes of paint poured onto plexiglass. The staining process allows Berry to give intuition a larger role in the creative process. The resulting works have an ethereal quality as light emanates from deep within the work. Like John Milton’s poem AParadise Lost, after which this body of work is named, Berry’s exquisite paintings inspire hope by celebrating the eternal beauty found in nature.

Timothy Berry’s paintings, drawings, and prints have been exhibited extensively in museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe, including 21 solo and 75 group exhibitions. He is a dedicated art educator and is the current chair of the printmaking department at the San Francisco Art Institute and founder of Teaberry Press, a printmaking workshop dedicated to the intaglio (etching) process.