Profiles of Contemporary Art and - ARTisSpectrum

Lydia van den Berg
Lydia in her Studio
The Secret Acrylic on Paper 32” x 48”
In her bright, whimsical paintings,
Bulgarian artist Lydia van den Berg
transcends our hectic modern world,
grounding the essence of our human
experience within her signature clear,
enthralling artistic forms. She has coined
the term “Magical Poetic Realism” to
describe her stylized images, which
showcase elements of the real world
that are reconfigured within a context
of poetic freedom and fantasy. Blending
No Boundaries Acrylic on Paper 15” x 20”
surreal and fanciful elements with the
abstract, van den Berg displays in her
images a cheerful world as discovered
and imagined by children, applying
a professional, technically precise
method to create subjects and vistas
with a refreshing sense of liberty.
Within the world of van den Berg’s
art, the magic of imagination always
dominates, pointedly ignoring
conventions of realism and the classic
perspectives of space and time.
Rather, her images reflect an instinctive
harmony of color and intensity, and
balanced compositions of geometric
forms. Using lucid and well-defined
lines, two-dimensional forms and
bright, contrasting colors, van den Berg
provides a window into the oft-forgotten
perspective of the child, re-exploring
the boundaries of what might be called
home and the terrains of daily life to
find a simpler approach to the human
condition.
The broadness of van den Berg’s artistic
vision has been inspired by her lifelong
travels throughout Northern Africa and
Europe, where she has been touched
by the people from all the different
cultures she has visited. A common
thread running throughout her journeys
is her observation that all cultures find
their survival and safety within both the
geographic and intangible boundaries
of home. The universality of this theme
woven throughout her paintings is part
of what makes her work so fresh. As
she explains, “[Here] I am true to my
feelings and my art.”
Lydia van den Berg lives and works
close to Zurich, Switzerland. She is also
the author of seven children’s stories.
www.lydiavandenberg.com
www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/
Lydia_van_den_Berg.aspx
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