'Translating our landscapes, ancient forests and open spaces, into worlds full of dynamism and stillness via coloured shapes, is the whole reason to be alive' 

By physically exploring woodlands, nature reserves, fields and parks I have heard the articulation of the nature, the personification of our land some say. It pours out of me as a new visual language that I wish to express, making a mute form articulate. If we have a connection between a subject than the manner of Personification has significance.   

The classic elements of earth, water, air and fire, combined with the sensory elements of fluidity, mobility, solidity are declared part of an abstraction in my paintings, into how a physical place is sensed. For me its trust in your instincts and paint it by translating it into a new visual language of shapes and colour which resinates from a location.  

Paint seems to flow from my brush to fill in the gaps of a language not spoken. Humans invented speech and language to communicate with each other. We don't fully understand what whales say to each other, but we know they make sonic sounds that we can hear with technology. What if we couldn't hear them underwater, but only sensed that they were communicating with each other and us.  Is that a language that we should listen too. Does nature have a 'true voice' within the earths land and the trees, that is the question.  And if it does....What would it be saying to us right now in England. 

My painting ‘Whispers in the Field’ exhibited at the RA Summer Exhibition 2019 recognises the fragile balances within our social eco world. It depicts a rich cultivated field which provides a sense of place, pride and cultural identity as the emphasis is on sustainability for the future and how we interact and work with nature, and not against it. 

Within my paintings I use a various of processes of applying intuitive layers of paint to construct or deconstruct my paintings. Large brush marks are in contrast to the static floating shapes that she sees. The next stage is planned as  the image is based around those original marks to be incapsulated in movement or stillness and what I have seen and felt. 

Berman’s result is an exciting style of Abstract Fauvism style of painting that creates a new visual dialogue to engage and sense with, by giving nature a voice.  

Seeds of thought

Kipling and Sackville West ideologies and works are transformed into shapes and shades. Artist Melanie Berman her relentless passion for colours brings joy and boldness to the canvas.  

Two incredible British literary giants Rudyard Kilpling and Vita Sackville West lived and worked not far front Berman’s door step. Have taken her on a journey of discovery of her local environment. As she has visualised elements of the land and working farms that engaged their passions and used their imagination through their writings mixed with their lives and their intellectual artistic cycle of friends. An enquires into a time and their legacy. 

Berman question and explores if any of their passions and stories are still relevant today.  Time passes and our empathetic view of home and land resurfacing as emotional archive of histories. Berman walks through the local Ancient woods and green hills and fields in the countryside that encapsulated them which brought a stream of imagery and experiences to the sense and a direction of nature and life.

A series of works has been completed in response to Rudyard Kipling ‘A way through the Woods ‘ A thought provoking Poem was explored through a visual language. The evocative description of woodland creatures and plants which hence are over grown and forgotten, nature takes back. 

Her work looks at elements of Kipling's experience. His magical mystical stories and memories such as in the of the 'Shalimar Gardens near Lahore ‘ Quote "The gardens themselves look like fairy land .. thick tree trucks and lime bushes and races of night blooming flowers that scented the whole air" … and he remembered the roses when he wrote ‘Rikki-Tikki-Tavi ‘ describing the garden in Allahabad “ with bushes as big as summerhouse” . …HIs rose garden at Bateman East Sussex full the air with scent in the summer months. 

Vita Sackville West ‘ The land “ poem and her gardens full of roses at Sissinghurst, engaging themes of natural life and romantic lovers’. Sometimes  I stroll in science with you’.  connects us to farmers life and machinery.  

Her painting aim to to capture the strong visual resonance that a wild green area can bring to the soul. Whilst out and about in green areas she also notices that modern man made object were scattered in the woods that reflector times which had been left behind, marks and traces of man were etched on a tree or Further in open area were structures, build in farm building fences haystacks or feeding toughs. All mixed into the rich usual patterns she was witnessing. 

Melanie Berman's 'Coded Paintings' are the same as forming inner landscapes that push the boundaries of thought.

If one lacks the ability to decipher the written word, one needs to creates another world of thought and personal pictorial language in ones mind to be able to survive the ‘world of words' as I call it and to communicate. 

Personally I was not refusing to except the rules of language or the written word, it was trying to work it out all the time. My pictorial language actually worked in conjunction or parallel with the existing system of visual language. 

The one I created revealed the speed and nature of thought into a reality, by breaking words and things into patterns and shapes. Spontaneously forming in ones mind.  No correction was needed, one didn't have to go back and challenge it,  One could just remember the flow, slopes, heights and colours that it produced, speaking a rhythm of their own. 

It seems the very thing that I hid for so long after some painful lessons and struggles has now come to the forefront of my painting and memory.  I’ve found my personal pictorial language makes inner landscapes that can recreate silence or chaos of a story or scene again. It's freedom of thought with no restrictions which is to be enjoyed.

Reading, now is a pleasure , as being older and using ones life experiences,  I have learnt many skills to remember the functions of language. By producing many patterns of codes  to process and remember things.

Technology and artificial intelligence interests me,  as they communicate by using codes. I'm also interesting in nature especially with bees and ants as they communicate in different rhythms of code to communicated situation and tasks.  

After researching I know we actually all code all things into shapes ‘ scientist call it  ‘recursive probabilistic fractals’ into concrete actionable steps‘ process in the mind.  Usually one does not see these code as it happens in nano seconds but in a way, I kind of do. Ray Kurzweil was amongst the first to recognise how the link between pattern recognition and human intelligence could be use to built the next generation of artificially intelligent machines. 

Human still have the upper hand on 'pattern recognisers' as we can read nuance and have imagination, which we can mix with all the other situations how ever complex to make the whole. Our coded systems make it hard for artificial intelligence to process . When artificial intelligence can read codes of nuances and imagination that we do, they will be more capable than humans.  Our coded patterns if you like will become a universal language. 

We have 300 million very general pattern recognisers which are responsible for human thought.  My paintings explore a new visual pictorial language as codes shapes. I am just  adding a few more 'pattern recognisers'  to our visual language.

I hope you will enjoy my series of 'coded paintings' - more will be available soon. 

Take note - House and Gardens Features Melanie Berman's Art work.

Carole Annett highlights current trends and hot buys in her 'Out and About ' blog page in the September Issue on Page 34 of House and Garden Magazine. Carole has been a driving force predicting trends and picking out the latest and hottest new things for the home for House and Garden for over 15 years. She knows what she is talking about.

I'm delighted that she has highlighted 'Golden Realm '  An abstract impressionist piece with loads of buzz and energy with delicate undertones, oozing style and creativity. Carole has further endorsed that Melanie Berman is an emerging artist who is one to watch out for. 

This painting measures 100 cm square and cost £1900 . Contact@melanieberman.com 

See more of Melanie's artwork at The Gallery - One Warwick Park in Tunbridge Wells. 

Make a wish, it can come true.

Melanie's new contemporary art collection depicting wishes, nature and myths, has now been photographed on location at the One Warwick Park Hotel in one of their luxury rooms. These conceptual artworks natural soft style and designs, work brilliant in bedroom settings or modern kitchens, halls or lounge areas. Large paintings can actually make a room look more spacious and one doesn't actually need as much wall space as one would think.

These paintings bring an interesting statement due to their originality and of use of colour and balance.  Be bold in the beginning when thinking of designing a room, think big.

The new collection is being exhibited at 'The Gallery' One Warwick Park Hotel in Tunbridge Wells Summer 2017. All works are for sale and available on the website. 

Have a inspiring day.

Photograph by Jason Wain 

Melanie Berman's exciting new abstract works gently weave a spell by connecting our natural surroundings with our dreams and imagination.

Frivolity affection and joy are expressed in Berman’s paintings whilst emphasising our natural surroundings.  To contemplate visual signs, myths and the unknown. Oscillating shapes appear to float in space. Detached and overlapping deities of different sizes glance and grace the canvas with their transcendence in a dream like state of flux. Fragmentation of these shapes offer inner serenity and an intelligent discreet view on the natural world. The space in-between the shapes becomes part of the visual field. 

One shape has a relation to the other shape which makes the ‘expression’. Unconscious threads seemingly connect the shapes without a perspective, are locked in a puzzle to be awakened .Whilst the portrayal of movement appears to change the shapes as they move across the visual field, making the space’s in-between the shapes not inert or negative but a cohesive space. Berman builds a labyrinthine quality which exist both in space and time.

Capitalism and consumerism are part of city life, society can not function without these forms. Expressing balance of life, the landscape becomes a metaphor of freedom of the soul. Berman believes dreams become fragmented in our subconscious by renewing their stasis and energy, we are able to return to the desired surroundings.

Lines, marks, scratches of gestural abstraction and painted symbols play with our awareness and our intrinsic values that are primordial: one momentarily can be lifted out of the endless chains of society pressures into the visibility of pure thoughts, leaving only translucent scars behind.  One can rest a while and contemplate the comprehension of our surroundings. 

The opening party at One Warwick Park Hotel (OWP) was full glamorous people who had been lucky enough to be the first to experience the new luxury lifestyle hotel and art works. 

Upstairs subtle grey and beige tones mixed with the stone and marble surfaces contrasted beautifully with the rich dark wood panelled doors and chrome fittings. 

The lower ground floor holds the new 'Art Gallery'.  Amazingly it's deep under ground but the the architects have created soft lighting to highlight all the hidden treasures that are housed there creating a welcoming and atmospheric space.

As you head to the gallery space you are greeted by a vibrant painting by Melanie Berman. Go further and her abstract artworks have produced a blast of colour in the gallery. Inviting you into an explosion of colour, which reflects her passion for the natural environment. These large luxury paintings are full of intriguing marks and shapes. Berman wishes to raise the question, 'What does the natural environment mean to the individual, does it play an important part in modern society today? Berman brings graffiti into her landscape painting to add to the cross-over barriers of modern society into her work as a form of territory and freedom of expression.

The art work also explores the possibilities of the hidden treasure in ancient woods and coasts as in ones that are intrinsic and that are tangible to us.

Visit this summer 'The Gallery' at 'One Warwick Park Hotel' in Tunbridge Wells - it's a must see.

They're buzzing around and so I am!

It's been a great busy time with all the setting up in the new 'Gallery' space at One Warwick Park Hotel in Tunbridge Wells Kent. It's opening in July to visitors and guests. I can't wait as the whole Hotel looks fabulous and is the perfect setting for my paintings to be in. It all looks how I wanted it to look. There are seven large paintings 152cm x 106 cm and one smaller one 120cm x 90 cm in the main Gallery. 

There are seven Signed Limited Edition Fine Art Prints on display to choose from ,which are full of colour. The large original paintings burst onto the scene in rich colours tones. I hope you will come and visit the 'Gallery' in the hotel, grab a coffee and enjoy yourself. The art is for everyone.

The Affordable Art Fair is from 17 -20 June in Hampstead London,  two stunning paintings have just been framed and are heading their way to the show. I'm exhibiting  with the St Anne's Galleries. 'Forever' is shown at the framers in the photo. Its a bold and interesting piece which would suit a contemporary home setting. 

The Wing Gallery in Wadhurst is having a group show called 'Sensation" and I will be exhibition two framed art piece on paper. It's full of local and talents artist. A must if you fancy a trip to the countryside. Head towards Bateman's in Burwash it's on route.

Keep creating! 

Art and jewellery come together- One Warwick Park Hotel in Tunbridge Wells shows local artist Melanie Berman with G Collins and Sons the jewellers in their new 'Gallery' space.

Melanie Berman the Contemporary artist will be exhibiting with G Collins and Sons.  Her stunning colourful large art works will be on display beside beautiful pieces of luxury jewellery that will be displayed in bespoke cabinets within the newly refurbished Warwick Park Hotel in their unique 'The Gallery' space.

It's an exciting time for Melanie she is thrilled to be working in partnership with One Warwick Park (OWP) and with Mr Harry Collins the Personal jewellers to Her Majesty The Queen and Harry's son Josh. Art, architecture and luxury jewellery go hand in hand. The right mix of designers will produce an interesting and relaxing environment.  

She's really looking forward to seeing you there and showing you her new work. A brilliant new print will be available to celebrate the launch via the website called "Strawberry Fields', it's perfect for summer. 

Melanie

All pieces will be for sale - contact@melanieberman.com