BARBARA M. BERK

Barbara M. Berk’s wall-mounted sculpture “Grandest French Knot” has been selected for the Crocker Kingsley 2025 at Blue Line Arts in Roseville, CA.

 

A revered tradition since 1926 and a juried event since 1940, the exhibition stands as a prestigious testament to the dynamic evolution of contemporary art.  This collaboration between the Crocker Art Museum and the Kingsley Art Club has long been a beacon for artistic innovation, showcasing both emerging talent and celebrated masters.

 

For this 82nd edition, juror Grace Kook-Anderson, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum, selected approximately 80 works from an impressive pool of 2,516 submissions by 643 artists. Reflecting on her process, Kook-Anderson shared, “This year’s submissions included an incredible range of works across mediums, formal considerations, and conceptual frameworks... I was compelled by themes that artists shared and the vulnerabilities that were expressed…”

 

Barbara M. Berk’s sculpture embodies the interplay of metal with traditional fiber techniques.  She makes bobbin lace by hand, and then curves, loops, twists, interweaves, layers, sews, embroiders, welds and polishes the flat lace “fabric” into 3-dimensional forms.  For the wall-mounted sculpture “Grandest French Knot”, Berk used 24 strands of wire to make a square of bobbin lace to form the foundation, and then played with the long wire ends to embellish the surface of the lace. The strands and lace are sewn together with wire to establish the 3-dimensional form, evoking an embroiderer’s knot.  The wire ends are welded and polished.

 

The exhibition runs through February 22, 2025, with an Encore Reception on Saturday February 15, 2025 at

5 – 7pm.

 

The Kingsley Art Club, named for Elbridge Kingsley, artist and engraver, was organized in 1892 by a group of fifteen Sacramento women seeking art education. What exists now, in a close relationship with the Crocker Art Museum, are lectures and outreach to many audiences through in person and social media sources.

 

The Crocker Art Museum, located in Sacramento, California, is the oldest art museum in the Western United States. Founded in 1885, the museum holds a diverse collection of artworks that span centuries, continents, and cultures, including one of the premier collections of Californian art.  It is the primary resource for the study and appreciation of fine art in the Sacramento region. 

 

Founded in the 1960’s as the Roseville Community Projects Incorporated, the Blue Line Arts continues its mission to support the arts by providing  a 5,000 square-foot facility for exhibition space for established and emerging artists, as well as an education space for children and adults.​

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Information about the exhibition is courtesy of  Blue Line Arts, 

the Kingsley Arts Club and the Crocker Art Museum