Kelly Berg
Works
Biography
Kelly Berg (b. 1986, Concord, Massachusetts) was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is currently based in Los Angeles, CA. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. Berg has presented solo exhibitions at Craig Krull Gallery, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, The Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery at Santa Monica College, and The Lancaster Museum of Art and History. Most recently Berg was the featured outdoor installation artist at the Laguna Art Museum for Art and Nature 2022, creating her interactive sculptural exhibition “Pyramidion”, featuring several reflective pyramids placed in the landscape of Laguna Beach. Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions at many notable venues including USC Fisher Museum of Art, Museo Ercolanense Portici – Napoli in Italy, The Los Angeles International Airport, The Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery at California State University, The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University, and The Manhattan Beach Arts Center. Berg’s work is part of the permanent collection of The Lancaster Museum of Art and History and The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in addition to numerous private and corporate collections. Berg was an artist-in-residence at the Art 1307 Cultural Institution in Naples, Italy (2019) and at Boxo Projects in Joshua Tree, California (2021). During both residencies she created works in dialogue with the landscape and the unique geologic features specific to those locations. Her work has been reviewed in White Hot Magazine, Artillery, Art Miami Magazine, Quiet Lunch, Art Now LA, Art & Cake, and Easy Reader News, and was also the subject of an episode of Santa Monica City TV’s “Wave Arts and Culture” television series. She has had features and interviews in The Daily Pilot, Stu News, Curator, and Art Now LA.
Kelly Berg’s paintings and mixed media sculptural works explore the ever-shifting nature of our world. Known for her compositions depicting the movement of tectonic plates, volcanic eruptions, and dramatic geologic formations, Berg’s works offer a new perspective within the context of contemporary landscape and the sublime. The integration of geometric forms within her compositions and the reoccurring imagery of pyramids emerging from dark rifts in the earth create a visual framework that symbolizes a convergence of the human and natural worlds. Integral to the work is Berg’s own personal experiences and physical presence in the landscapes she depicts. Her process includes conducting her own research projects, plein air drawing, and photography of the specific geological and archeological sites that she is compelled to create her work about. In her paintings, she uses an adaption of the Renaissance Grisaille technique with acrylics, creating a luminous effect through many layers of glazes. Some of Berg’s works occupy the space between painting and sculpture using metal mesh, plexiglass shards, and the extension of the painting to the sides of the canvas to suggest topographies and geologic formations. Through Berg’s techniques and imagery she creates a visual tension between danger and beauty and the overall sense of a world constantly in flux. She references her experiences observing the various stages of volcanic eruptions of Kilauea in Hawaii and the cycle of destruction and creation of new land as the framework for her own world view and that which she depicts in her art. Emanating light and the overall mysterious quality of Berg’s landscapes ultimately offer a sense of optimism and express a spiritual connection with the natural world.
Currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
EDUCATION
2008
Bachelor of Fine Arts, The Rhode Island School of Design / RISD, Providence, RI
2022
Pyramidion, The Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
Emergence, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2021
Inspirational, Museo Ercolanense Reggia di Portici (NA), Curator Cynthia Penna (ART1307)
2019
Textured Environments, The Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica College,
Santa Monica, CA
An Ever-Shifting World, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2018
Unknown Horizon, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2016
Divergent Earth, Sloan Projects, Santa Monica, CA
2015
New Paintings, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Phenomena, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
2014
Dangerous Transcendence, The Museum of Art and History / MOAH, Lancaster, CA
2012
Amazonia, Frank Pictures Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2011
Subterranean, Frank Pictures Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2008
Nature: An Uncommon View, The Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Boxo10x10, BoxoPROJECTS, Joshua Tree, CA
I Love the Light in California, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Ohana, Scape Gallery, Corona del Mar, CA
WE ARE LA: Contemporary Art from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, The
Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery, California State University, Los Angeles, CA
Black and White: Contemporary Art from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, The
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
Human Natures: Highlights from MOAH’s Permanent Collection, The Lancaster
Museum of Art and History / MOAH, Lancaster, CA
Sightlines, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2021
Inspirational – The Influence of Place, Museo Ercolanense Reggia di Portici / The Royal
Palace of Portici Museum of Herculaneum, Portici, Italy
Art and Hope at the End of the Tunnel, USC Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Out of the Blue, LAX/The Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA
Finally…!, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Brick & Mortar, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2020
Mojo Rising, The Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery, California State University, Los
Angeles, CA
2019
California Dreaming, Steps Gallery, Yokohama, Japan
Made in California: Contemporary Art from the Frederick R. Weisman Collection, The
Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
It’s All Black and White: Contemporary Art from the Frederick R. Weisman Collection,
The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
Affari di Famiglia / Family Affairs: Andy Moses, Ed Moses, and Kelly Berg, Art 1307
Cultural Institution, Villa di Donato, Naples, Italy
Wild Blue Yonder, LAX / The Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA
See Sea Si, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018
Relevant, Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Nature Worship, Mash Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Black & White & In Between: Contemporary Art from the Frederick R. Weisman Art
Foundation, The Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA
BLACK, The Loft at Liz’s, Los Angeles, CA
15th Annual Faculty Exhibition, The Donkey Mill Arts Center, Holualoa, HI
2017
California Dreaming: Contemporary Art from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation,
The Frederick R. Weisman Museum, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
The Thunder of Meaning, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles,
CA
Blue, Post Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Ojai Invitational 2017: California Space and Light, Porch Gallery, Ojai, CA
Echo Location, Eastside International, Los Angeles, CA
Annual Group Exhibition, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2016
The Fourth Wall, Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Art for Art’s Sake: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, The
Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA
South of the Grapevine, Arte Americas, Fresno, CA
Out There, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
Family Plot: Ed Moses, Andy Moses, and Kelly Berg, Manhattan Beach Arts Center,
Manhattan Beach, CA
Shimmer, Jamie Brooks Fine Art, Costa Mesa, CA
Psychedelic Tendencies, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Made in California: Selections from The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Mana
Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ
2015
Environmental Impact: Selections from The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, The
Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA
Made in California: Selections from The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Mana
Contemporary, Miami, FL
Chestnut, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
Ethereal, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2014
Art for Art’s Sake: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Marjorie
Barrick Museum of Art, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
Cultural Excavation, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
Perceptual Nature, The Malibu Lumber Yard Gallery, Malibu, CA
Illusions of a Perfect Utopia: Contemporary Landscape, Walter Maciel Gallery, Culver
City, CA
Across the Difference, Space 4505 / Khalifa Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013
Out There, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
Gleaming Apollo, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
Local Fish, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Depth of Field, The Loft at Liz’s, Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Art Now, Leslie Sacks Fine Art, Brentwood, CA
2012
Simulacrum, Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
California Art: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, The Carnegie Art
Museum, Oxnard, CA
California Girls, Katherine Cone Gallery, Culver City, CA
Ed’s Party, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2011
Top of the Dome, Crewest Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Beyond Eden 2011, The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park
Foundation, Hollywood, CA
Eye to Eye, Crewest Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
R.O.T.E., Gallery 825 / The Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, CA
Three Year Anniversary Show, C.A.V.E. Gallery, Venice, CA
Turquoise Noise, Curbside Gallery, Santa Ana, CA
Abstract Intentions, Rothick Art Haus, Anaheim, CA
2010
Wreck the Walls, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Beyond Eden 2010, The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park
Foundation, Hollywood, CA
Ten Year Anniversary Show, Cannibal Flower, Los Angeles, CA
2009
Nine Year Anniversary Show, Cannibal Flower, Los Angeles, CA
Black Cat Festival, Black Cat Gallery, Culver City, CA
September Art Show, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
All of the Above, New Puppy Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Black Sugar Market, The Artery, Costa Mesa, CA
Brushfire, C.A.V.E. Gallery, Venice, CA
Spring Invitational, New Puppy Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
Members Juried Exhibition, The Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN
Clue: Senior Illustration Department Exhibition, ISB Gallery, The Rhode Island School of
Design, Providence, RI
The Rhode Island School of Design Senior Show, Woods-Gerry Gallery, The Rhode
Island School of Design, Providence, RI
RESIDENCIES
2021
BoxoPROJECTS, Joshua Tree, CA
2019
Art 1307 Cultural Institution, Naples, Italy