Berenice Michelow

“Bright transparent incandescent colors” are the starting point for Berenice Michelow’s new works. Blending photorealism with elements of emotive expressionism, Michelow paints colorful images that offer insight into the perspective of children who are free of responsibility and as yet unaware of the larger realities we all ultimately face in the “real world.” Her subjects will often be slightly blurred, as if overexposed to the light around them. But just like a photographer with an ability to manipulate exposure, she knows exactly how to pull a person or object out from its surroundings by depicting it in sharp focus against that glowing background. While bright shades dominate, the artist also demonstrates a striking ability to use shadows and an underlying sense of darkness to balance out the sunnier hues, giving her images an added degree of depth.

Born in South Africa, Berenice Michelow now lives and works in the United States. Whether she is exploring the dynamic evolving democracy in New South Africa or her thoughts on life and patriotism in the United States, she has an impressive ability to make the world she depicts seem to shine from within.