Siri Berg (1921 - 2020) Swedish born Siri Berg was a master colorist and abstract painter. Her career was defined by her continual quests for knowledge, perfection and reinvention. Applying and mixing color to canvas and paper in astonishingly flat and even tones, Berg’s practice was grounded in abstraction, however the reoccurring motifs are inspired by everything from literature and poetry to historical reference.
Two major bodies of work, La Ronde and Kabbalah, are influenced by musical rondo form—in which stylized repetitions are inserted between identical notes—and Sephirot scheme, wherein “ten divine emanations are interconnected and represent the attributes which allow God to sustain all life.” Berg created her pigment-based compositions adhering to the structures of spirituality, poetry, music and mathematics, seeking out new and innovative means of exploring color and space.
She received her BA from the Institute of Art and Architecture at the University of Brussels. Her work is included in the permanent collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Southwest State University Art Museum, Minnesota; Cornell University’s Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Ithaca, NY; and the Museum of Modern Art, Stockholm; as well as the National Museum of American Jewish History, and Coca-Cola. .
Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally for over 30 years in such countries as Australia, China, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Spain and Germany, and across the United States. She was a long-time member of the American Abstract Artists and taught Color Theory at Parsons, The New School for Design for over 30 years.
