ARLENE BERRIE's pop expressionistic paintings include fanciful toy characters, cartoon superheroes, and signage. With Arlene Berrie’s paintings she looks for two qualities, comfort and substantiality.  She feels best when painting things into the canvas and then out...  in other words, eliminating sections of a figure allows her to concentrate on what is real about its presence.  One perceives this reality in Greek sculptures in which one recognizes the beauty of the foot, that remains, or the torso.  Yet, the fragment seems very whole and truthful.

Arlene’s chosen subject are objects which give us those creature comforts we so enjoy in life; stuffed animals, the graphics of beautiful packaging design, and well-known cartoon characters.  Like holding onto your favorite furry animal these crafted products make life warmer.  Arlene wishes to see how much she needs to include in the work so that the picture transmits something substantial of her perceptions.

Originally from New York, Arlene moved to Miami for the south Florida light that has an extraordinary dramatic quality.  She was a resident artist at the Art Center South Florida for five years.  Arlene Berrie graduated from Boston University with a Master of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Art at Yale University.  Her works have been exhibited in museums and galleries in New York and Florida.  Recently, the paintings have been included in Art Miami, Palm Beach Three, and the Art Chicago fairs.   For artist’s Bio, please contact the gallery.

Art Review      By Michelle Weinberg

Figure and Ground

Four Artists Reveal and Obscure Their Subjects With Distinctive Painting and Drawing Approaches

http://www.miamisunpost.com/0425artreview.htm