Local Artist Joel Berry creates patterns with “almost obsessive” detail
The LaFontsee Galleries represented artist finds inspiration in repetition, Japanese art… and the ordinary shoreline rocks of Lake Michigan.
Local artist Joel Berry has been actively worked in the Grand Rapids arts community for over 10 years, most recently centering his work around his creation of patterns on shoreline rocks. Berry’s work, with its slightly obsessive patterning and rhythms of concentric circles, then, is a perfect fit to be featured in the upcoming show at LaFontsee Galleries, opening July 22, “Slightly Obsessive.” In fact, it’s such a close fit that his work was selected for informational materials about the show.
“My art work has always focused on pattern, intense detail, and almost obsessive processes which adhere to a system of my own invention,” says Berry. “For example, the layering of alternating black and white concentric circles, shrinking down to a barely visible final point, covering the interior surface of a fractured rock.”
While Berry is not an art therapist, he does use his art to help him focus and maneuver through today’s world.
“[For me, there is] a need to create calming processes that clear the mind and focus my attention,” says Berry. He is driven to create and is inspired by that relaxing process.
Part of this process includes first sourcing materials. For Berry, that means getting out into nature and exploring the Michigan lakeshore, where he often finds rocks that draw his attention and motivate his creativity. The word “obsessive” comes up again.
“My obsession with ordinary shoreline rocks that I collect for their naturally sculptural forms has guided my work for many years,” he says.
He is not only inspired by the natural beauty of his surroundings, but also other artists. Berry finds his work connecting to the work of Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist who uses repetition of pattern and shape to create illusions and grandeur.
Berry sees his work as a complementary aspect to the art of Kusama. Kusama’s work emphasizes the expanse a room can hold ad gives the viewer an awareness of themself. On the other hand, Berry chooses to work more detailed by making marks that are scaled down and become barely perceptible, quiet in comparison.
Berry has taken the time to perfect his current process. While he has always concentrated on rigorous, intense repetition in his drawing and printmaking work, his explorations earlier in his work shifted from grids, to heavy layering and gradients, to experimenting with lines, to exploring the visual effects of drops rolling down surfaces. Berry’s focus soon landed on those drops, along with dots and concentric circles.
He now sees two changes evolving into his work: using color—now that he feels he’s earned the right to use color after a focused artistic journey—and embracing the accidents.
In the past, he’s closely worked within a system, keeping everything consistent. But more recently, he has allowed instances of inconsistency.
“[Working on a recent rock painting], I noticed the last circle I had applied was a bit off from the concentric layers below it,” he said. “Normally I would wipe that layer clean and start again but this time I accepted it, worked it into the pattern so that each following layer was more off center. The result is what looks like a melting in the pattern.”
Berry has recently been inspired by that willingness to accept accidents and work with them to push the breakdown in systems further.
“I plan to move towards intentionally challenging the system by creating anomalies in it, playfully breaking down the system, and discovering new directions through contradiction,” he says.
Berry’s roots as an artist started at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), where he received his Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) degree. He soon became involved in the Avenue for the Arts, hosting shows in live/work spaces and working with the growing art community in Grand Rapids.
Soon after graduating from GVSU, he also joined the staff at LaFontsee Galleries. Berry has provided custom framing work for customers and artists since joining the staff at LaFontsee in 2006, and is their primary in-house custom frame builder.
Now, he’s working full time in the local art world—both in helping other artists showcase their work at LaFontsee Galleries and in his own personal work.
See Joel Berry’s work in person at LaFontsee Galleries:
“Slightly Obsessed”
LaFontsee Galleries-Douglas location
410 West Center Street, Douglas, MI
Opening Saturday, July 22
5–8 p.m.
Show runs July 22-August 20
