Gerry Bergstein
Gerry Bergstein has been widely considered one of the most influential painters in this region since the 1980s. Still, Bergstein’s penchant for producing eruptions of unexpected imagery is undiminished. His work teems with cascading figures plucked from art history and his own life. It’s a centuries-spanning reunion of Bergstein’s very extended family of relatives, friends, and figures he’s borrowed from the work of Jean-Leon Gerome, Rene Magritte, Max Beckmann, Vija Celmins, John Currin, Matt Groening and many, many others.
Cate McQuaid of The Boston Globe wrote in her 2013 article titled Plotting Painterly Fiction, "As ever, Bergstein is trying to figure out the universe, and it’s a massive, spinning, tricky place. He invokes great thinkers who have tackled life, the universe, art, and society, and suggests that nobody has quite put it all together yet."
McQuaid continued, "Theory and Practice utilizes old, peeled-off paint from his palette. It’s more sculpture than painting. Layers of old paint project from the bottom of the piece like a colorful trash heap. An old paint tube sticks out of it. Two small men work to shovel it up, as behind them unfolds a picture of a boy with his back to us, regarding blossoms as big as he is. Maybe this is a self-portrait: Bergstein is both the boy, awed by the world’s beauty, and the workmen, shoveling through the pretty, messy muck."
Bergstein’s work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, the Boston Public Library, and the Davis Museum in Wellesley, Massachusetts, among many others.
Dithering Machines, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 84x102"> Inquire Torn Curtain, 2023, mixed media on paper, 50x120"> Inquire Don't Look Up, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 54x87"> Inquire Attempted Mind Meld With Philip Guston, 2023, mixed media on paper, 23x46"> Inquire Factotum, 2023, oil and collage on canvas, 37x40"> Inquire City in the Stars, 2023, mixed media on paper, 40x26" Sold> Inquire The Edge, 2023, mixed media on paper, 22x34"> Inquire Fortress, 2023, mixed media on paper, 26x40"> Inquire Last Stand, 2023, mixed media on paper, 30x22"> Inquire Octopus' Garden, 2023, mixed media on paper, 40x26"> Inquire Psychobabel, 2023, mixed media on paper, 18x40"> Inquire Witnesses, 2022, oil on paper, 26x40"> Inquire Distant Early Warning, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 12x18"> Inquire Mr. Clean, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 8.5x12" Sold> Inquire Postcards from the Edge II, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 7x5" Sold> Inquire Postcards from the Edge I, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 7x5" Sold> Inquire Postcards from the Edge III, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 4x4" Sold> Inquire Mound, 2023, mixed media on canvas, 90x60"> Inquire Day For Night, 2021, oil on paper, 22x30"> Inquire Whitewash, 2019, mixed media on canvas, 34x64"> Inquire Sweep, 2019, mixed media on canvas, 40x32"> Inquire Theory and Practice, 2019, mixed media on paper, 22x30" Sold> Inquire Road Map, 2019, mixed media on canvas, 60x88"> Inquire Body Politic, 2019, mixed media on canvas, 66x84"> Inquire Watchtower, 2018, oil on paper, 22x30" Sold> Inquire It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To, 2017, mixed media, 50x75"> Inquire Special Delivery, 2016, mixed media on panel, 18x13x6" Sold> Inquire Fragment IV, 2016, mixed media on paper, 21x16" Sold> Inquire Fragment II, 2016, mixed media on paper, 21x14.5"> Inquire Babel, 2015, mixed media on canvas, 18.5x90" Sold> Inquire Book II, Fragile Sky, 2016, mixed media on paper, 21x32.5" Sold> Inquire Book I, Handbook, 2015, mixed media on paper, 20.5x34" Sold> Inquire
Gerry Bergstein
Gerry Bergstein has been widely considered one of the most influential painters in this region since the 1980s. Still, Bergstein’s penchant for producing eruptions of unexpected imagery is undiminished. His work teems with cascading figures plucked from art history and his own life. It’s a centuries-spanning reunion of Bergstein’s very extended family of relatives, friends, and figures he’s borrowed from the work of Jean-Leon Gerome, Rene Magritte, Max Beckmann, Vija Celmins, John Currin, Matt Groening and many, many others.
Cate McQuaid of The Boston Globe wrote in her 2013 article titled Plotting Painterly Fiction, "As ever, Bergstein is trying to figure out the universe, and it’s a massive, spinning, tricky place. He invokes great thinkers who have tackled life, the universe, art, and society, and suggests that nobody has quite put it all together yet."
McQuaid continued, "Theory and Practice utilizes old, peeled-off paint from his palette. It’s more sculpture than painting. Layers of old paint project from the bottom of the piece like a colorful trash heap. An old paint tube sticks out of it. Two small men work to shovel it up, as behind them unfolds a picture of a boy with his back to us, regarding blossoms as big as he is. Maybe this is a self-portrait: Bergstein is both the boy, awed by the world’s beauty, and the workmen, shoveling through the pretty, messy muck."
Bergstein’s work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, the Boston Public Library, and the Davis Museum in Wellesley, Massachusetts, among many others.