Don Berger: Biography

Biography

Don Berger began his studies in 1949, at the Art Institute of Chicago. He attended painting classes taught by his uncle, Edgar Rupprecht, and aunt, Isobel MacKinnon. Other art instructors were Boris Anisfeld, Paul Wieghardt and Leroy Niemann. Granted a BFA degree and a Teacher's Certificate, he then taught arts & crafts in the Glencoe, Illinois school system for nine years. Simultaneously, he was marketing prints of pen & ink studies of Chicago scenes in downtown galleries and exhibiting paintings at the Deerpath Gallery in Lake Forest.

In 1968, the Berger family of five moved to a ranch in the B.C. interior where he painted landscapes of the Cariboo and Chilcotin, exhibiting them at the Fraser Gallery in Vancouver, B.C. Since then he has exhibited at the Waterwheel Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado; R. Ricketts Gallery in Dallas, Texas; and the Horizons West Gallery in Vancouver. International galleries that are currently exhibiting his works can be found on his website on the To Purchase page.

Artist’s Statement:

In the 1990s my wife and I embarked on a landscaping project that included a great variety of annuals and perennials. After a few seasons when the gardens had matured, I saw amazing subjects for paintings right in my own back yard. Early attempts to capitalize on this rich treasure seemed to lack a certain vibrancy. The canvasses seemed too small to capture the essence of the flower. This prompted me to paint on the large canvasses that I currently use. These, much larger than life depictions allow both artist and viewer to go deep inside the flower where intricate details, usually seen only by bees, are revealed. Here, at close range they invite us to see in a new way, and perhaps even to catch a hint of their scent!

The lavish palette, the interplay of light and shadow and the endless parade of colour in the garden have made this work immensely rewarding for me. But the biggest reward has been the response from viewers who have entered the gallery and found a garden there.