Bernstein's Open Studio: "Open House"
Bernstein challenges and expands on the traditional principles of
drawing: line, shape and perspective, to produce works that are wonderfully
expressive and darkly amusing. In her most recent installation, "Open
House,” she uses the unorthodox and unexpected material of masking tape, which
she cuts and bends to produce “drawings,” transforming her studio into living
space complete with kitchen, hearth and Home Sweet Home “rag” rug.
In 2010, Bernstein, who has been the resident artist with her
husband, David Garratt, since 2007, produced “How Does Your Garden Grow,” a
drawing installation at an abandoned gas station in Lynchburg, Virginia which
she covered with a lacy filigree of plants. In the process, she not only
transformed a blighted building into something quite lyrical, but she also
engaged the surrounding community. “Anyone that passes by when I am working on
the building greets me warmly. Young, old, infirmed, or carefree, some stop and
talk. Some stop and watch. Many thank me: ‘I just wanted to come over and thank
you for making the neighborhood beautiful. It looks like someone cares about
us.’”
The project was run under the auspices of the Lynchburg Neighborhood
development Foundation. The building currently houses “Word Works,” a reading
and writing after school program for K-12 students. Bernstein says of the
project: “These active, vibrant and sustaining solutions affirm my goals of
community: art becomes, and is joined with, life.” “How Does Your Garden Grow”
was featured on the cover of The Public Art Dialogue Journal, November 2011.
The project is ongoing as some of the work had to be re-done due to building
renovations and weather damage. www.barbarabernstein.net
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