Contributed by Peter Schroth / In “Spirit Level,” Emily Berger’s solo show at Starr Suites, she continues to expose the depths of a kind of abstract painting that she has intriguingly investigated and perfected over the past decade. Her minimal compositions are poised confidently between the formal and the lyrical. There is an almost primitive simplicity to what she reveals and purposefully little made of light, movement, and space in the ways we would typically anticipate. Rendering thin layers of paint with a squeegee, Berger’s markings suggest abrasions or tracks that could equally indicate application, removal, or simply the work of chance or nature.
NOTE: We have ten days until the end of the Two Coats of Paint 2024 Year-end Fundraising Campaign! This year, we’re aiming for full participation from our readers and gallery friends. Your support is important, and any contribution—big or small—will help keep the project thriving into 2025. Plus, it’s tax-deductible! Thank you for being a vital part of the Two Coats of Paint community.
Berger bravely eschews romance, to illuminating effect. She does not indulge herself ingratiating tactility or lush paint. The marks and surfaces are spare, and many works incorporate substantial swaths of unprimed wooden panel. While color has a voice, in most of the paintings she uses it in a tersely functional way, to distinguish one mark or area from another, or this thought from that thought. Only occasionally does color become the subject of a painting and speak loudly, as it were, per Sideways or Double Talk. When not outright monochrome, Berger’s color stays within the boundaries of a two-hue, primary-secondary, or dark-light regimen, keeping the proceedings lean and maintaining a matter-of-fact attitude.
This constrained, deadpan approach seems to reflect the artist’s thought process – in particular, her struggle to balance discipline and creative departure – with remarkable authenticity. Viewers witness Berger sampling possibilities, such as “I’ll try this” or “maybe stop here.” “See Emily Think” may be as apt a title for this article as the one it has. While Berger maintains consistency and clarity of purpose, her method remains exploratory, providing the patient observer with continuously fresh if persistently incremental experience.
“Emily Berger: Spirit Level,” Starr Suites, 281 Starr Street, Brooklyn, NY. Through January 5, 2025.
About the author: Peter Schroth is a Brooklyn based painter.
Congratulations Emily!! Great work, and nice article, Peter.