Rosamond Berg American, 1931-2018

Rosamond Berg's assemblage box constructions are comprised of many small, hand-dyed cloth pouches; their repetition and weight imply a gathering of powerful mystical substances, lending her works a haunting, spiritual presence. Titles such as Voyage I show a concern for the ephemeral nature of materials. The subtlety of this work epitomizes the quiet, sometimes haunting tone of the works in this series. The juxtaposition between the soft, delicate sacks and the structure of the box ignites a tension between opposing forms, balancing a Minimalist composition with ethereal references. The underlying rhythm and sense of ritual suggests a potent energy stored away in these quietly charged objects, representing the artist’s thoughts and dreams.

Berg was born in Brewster, New York and attended high school with American Modernist artist Will Barnet. She received a BFA from Cornell University in 1954. After graduating, she spent a year in Rome, Italy as a professor's assistant at the American Academy. Her first exhibition was at Allan Stone Gallery, New York, in 1977 and she has since exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers. Her work is held in the collections of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., and the Neuberger Museum, Purchase. Her work has been reviewed in Art in America, Art New England, The Boston Globe, and Artspeak. Berg lived and worked in New Canaan, Connecticut until her death in 2018.

Rosamond Berg was wife of famous album cover designer John Berg, who designed covers for Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Chicago, Barbara Streisand, and Sly Stone, amongst others. Together, they have sailed the East Coast, the Caribbean, the Grenadines, and the Bay of Biscay in a 43-foot sloop. They spent their summers sailing the East Coast while she sketched and collected references for her work from the many harbors and shores they visit. Berg was influenced by her love of Asian art and its connection to nature, particularly Chinese brush painting.

She won multiple awards at the Silvermine's Art of the Northeast Competition. For seven decades, the competition has been a springboard for emerging artists, many of whom have gone on to achieve fame, such as Helen Frankenthaler and Richard Anuszkiewicz. The contest has also seen a range of judges such as Thomas B. Hess, Henry Geldzahler, Hilton Kramer, Larry Rivers, Louise Nevelson, Will Barnet, Clement Greenberg, Andre Emmerich and Reuben Nakian of academia, curatorship and art fame who have viewed and critiqued their fledgling colleagues.