artist acclaim

"The artist conveys his emotions in a unique and eclectic manner. The magic lies in his brush strokes and his brilliant use of color and light. The spectator is drawn into the painting through romanticism, humanism, and naturalism, which capture the eye and heart. His ability to create the illusion of detail so that the viewer thinks he understands the message or the mood merely serves to reinforce the artist's power to play with emotion. The beauty of the painting is that, whatever interpretation surfaces, the reaction is honest. This doesn't mean the work is facile, quite the contrary. It is accessible, yet complex; it is painfully realistic, yet ethereally poetic. Although glimpses of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Corot, and a myriad of other painters may emerge, the final result is totally and uniquely Berc. " Ruth Pomerantz - Louvre Magazine The Louvre Museum, Paris, France Come into the world of Berc's paintings, where two dimensions become three, or maybe four, as swirls of human emotion encompass everyday, yet completely extraordinary, scenes. Berc's compositions are strong and direct. The result of endless studies and sketches, they are highly personal, revealing Berc's love of people and his deep understanding of them. The portraits offer a glimpse into their souls, and invite the viewer to create their biographies. Light moves over and across Berc's canvasses, creating intriguing plays of color on floors, walls, faces, tables, chairs. Seemingly broad strokes betray subtle shadings, just as the busy public worlds of bars and cafés provide a thin, shimmering veneer over images of sometimes profound human solitude. Berc's paintings are as specific as photographs, and yet as universal as a well-wrought poem. Nothing in them can be foreign to anyone who has lived and felt deeply. Yet the moment you feel that you could step right into the painting and become a part of its simple drama, you find yourself pulled back to the position of observer. You find your eyes-like Berc's-looking in, sharing with him as he captures one infinitely precious freeze-frame of human life and feeling out of the millions that stream by too fast for us to ordinarily see or feel them. Smell the ocean, feel the evening breeze on your skin, watch as sunlight or lamplight softens the walls surrounding Berc's characters. Inhabit the space of Berc's paintings . . . sense the warm bodies around you . . . allow time to stand still. And remember, there is always an empty chair waiting for you.