Exhibitions
Justin van den Berg - Come Look With Me
12 - 30 October, 2010
In a world that seems to move at an ever increasing pace, with a dizzying array of information surrounding us, it is the simple pleasures and small moments that restore balance - a small reflection on the surface of a plate; the random but perfect harmony between two pieces of fruit in a bowl; or the chance meeting of two colours resting side by side as a pear spends a few days next to an apple. These are the small moments that artist Justin van den Berg not just notices, but revels in. He has recreated his own world through paint, where time stands still and his personal "wonder moments" are captured forever in his paintings.
Justin has developed a healthy fascination with the colours and forms of everyday life that surround him by personalising and painting still life "portraits" of the fruit, vessels and cutlery in his increasingly famous studio/kitchen. A small bit of light reflected off the edge of a teacup may just as easily become the subject of a new painting as a fresh shadow being cast from the side of a fruit bowl. The overtly structured and posed set-ups found in traditional still life painting are wonderfully absent from his work.
This spontaneity and obvious sense of pleasure in every work result from the exact same pleasure that Justin gets from the painting process. It is an unfussy and uncomplicated process, often with visitors watching and chatting as he works. His paintings are completed with an often enviable casual ease.
Life can be complicated, moving too fast, full of information and simply frustrating. Justin van den Berg has refined a uniquely recognisable style of painting that counters these feelings by reminding us of the ignored or unappreciated beauty surrounding us everyday.
Come Look With Me, Justin van den Berg's third solo exhibition is a continued celebration of life's simple pleasures.