In the Studio with Laura Berger
Laura Berger is an artist I’ve admired for a long time. Her paintings have a soft, muted tone that’s punctuated by a few pops of color, like a drive through the desert. It’s a pleasant surprise that’s always subtle and subdued — a cactus flower poking out of the dust.
We caught up for the first time during the COVID shelter-in-place order, and she was kind enough to answer a few questions.
Tell us a little about yourself. You went to school in Wisconsin and are now based in Chicago, right? Do you feel the midwest has informed your style?
Yes, I grew up in Wisconsin and went to school for theatre, actually, and I've lived in Chicago for many years. I'm sure the midwest has had some impact on my style as it has on my self, though I think it's probably just a mishmash of all of the places I've traveled and things that have inspired me...
It's always hard to pull apart all of the different ways our experience gets rolled into our work, but it's for sure all there somewhere! I've been painting and drawing since I can remember — creative pursuits have definitely been an anchoring thing throughout my life.
What’s your favorite piece in the Art Institute? I love sitting on the bench in front of Georgia O’Keefe’s Sky Above Clouds IV.
Oh, yeah, I love that piece so much too. Such a tough question! Very mood-dependent! First of all, I love the Art Institute; for me, it's one of the most soothing places in the city. I like the room of all of the Indian, Southeast Asian & Himalayan art, and there's a gallery with ancient sculpture and textiles from South America that is one of my favorites, too.
Since you mention Georgia O'Keefe, I always pop through the gallery upstairs that has many of her works and a bunch of Arthur Dove's paintings — he is a favorite of mine. A Reasonable Facsimile and Silver Sun are both so nice.
I know you’ve painted a lot of murals. What’s it like working on something of that scale? Is it more intimidating or difficult than a regular canvas?
I'm intimidated by everything! But yes, the scale does get me nervous every time, for sure. Once I get it laid out, then I'm pretty much ok — I tend to just psych myself out before I do anything! The painting part is easier and becomes really enjoyable once I have the image all laid out on the wall.
Painting murals is super physical, which is a good challenge, and feels like an interesting break from working in the studio where I'm mostly just standing or sitting in one tiny place by myself.
It's really nice to travel to cool places to work, to get to paint outside, and to have others to work with or collaborate with on a project; I love to have a few murals in the mix each year — I think it helps to keep me sane and teaches me a lot.
Do you listen to music while you work? Who have you been enjoying lately?
I do listen to music while I work, yes — I usually work pretty long days so I generally do some alternating between music, podcasts, and just silence. I love a huge variety of music...some favorites that jump to mind are Juana Molina, Willie Colón, Bill Callahan, Ana Moura, Lizzo, Omara Portuondo, Sylvan Esso, Kari Faux, The Books, Khruangbin, Tinariwen —so many more.
Is there a dream project you would love to work on? Something big like an airplane wrap, shoe design, etc. or maybe something more personal?
An airplane wrap would be amazing, I never even thought of that! But honestly, right now I would mostly love the opportunity and studio space to be able to make a series of large scale paintings on canvas. That would be a dream for me as I've been working in a very small space for awhile now, and it can become a bit restricting in terms of what I can explore and how I can push myself.
I would also love to do more mural work and as well as some more accessible or experimental projects like making a small book or zine.
But mostly my focus is on my paintings at the moment — trying new mediums and hoping to continue to learn and to grow my technique and style feels like the most important thing.
We pulled together a playlist of Laura’s favorite music for painting.
Follow along on Spotify.
Have you read, watched, or listened to anything lately that’s stuck with you? Any recommendations for us to check out?
Lately I've mostly been reading stuff to kind of help me mentally through this pandemic situation... I'm currently reading Freedom From The Known by J Krishnamurti, and just finished This Is It by Alan Watts — would recommend both!
My favorite movies I've seen recently were Parasite and Jojo Rabbit. But for pandemic home viewing, I recommend any movie or show where there are phones with cords, and / or some sort of musical montage. Seriously, old movies / lighter content have been the key in my household to self-soothing during this time. We've also been watching The Office, some Bob Ross episodes (very calming and wonderful) and working through The Twilight Zone which I haven't seen since I was a kid.
As for music, I got really into fado music after traveling in Portugal last year — it's so emotional and honest. My favorite exhibit I've seen recently was Weaving Beyond the Bauhaus at the Art Institute here in Chicago. (I think it may be traveling around?) And saw a Tinariwen show at Thalia Hall that was easily in my top 5 concerts of all time; if you ever have the chance to see them live — go!
The human figure seems to have a consistent presence in your work. What do you think it is that draws you to the female form?
I think it's just the narrator or form that I use to convey the emotions or ideas I'm hoping to share through my work. There are endless possibilities with the human figure, so that feels exciting to me. I use a female form because I'm a woman, so it's just the natural choice as that's the lens through which I experience the world.
Who inspired you the most when you first began painting? Is there anyone who really opened up something new to you?
I'm a self-taught painter, and in a lot of ways I feel like I'm only just beginning to get my feet under me with painting. There's so much to learn.
My first forays into painting on a professional level were in college when I was given the opportunity to paint a 40-foot backdrop for a theatre production. That was definitely the first time I felt permission to trust myself and try to paint something at that scale that other people would see, and to learn how to do it just by jumping into the fire. It scared me a lot but it all worked out and it gave me the foundation for everything I've done since then, so I'm very grateful for the professor who gave me that push.
How do you decide which medium is best for a certain idea you have in your head? I know you also make prints and ceramics. When did you first begin expanding beyond painting? What do you enjoy about working with those mediums?
I have tried my hand at ceramics in the past, yes! It was really interesting and challenging to attempt to translate my imagery in three dimensions, and generated some insights that I could then take back into my paintings. But I'm mostly just painting these days; that's the medium that excites me the most and is where I've been wanting to focus my time and energy. I do about 3-4 print releases each year, usually, and those are usually derived from my paintings.
What’s next for you? Where can we look forward to seeing your work?
Well things are a little up in the air at the moment — so many of the shows and projects that I had scheduled for the upcoming months have been either postponed or canceled because of the global pandemic.
I do have a solo show scheduled with Hashimoto Contemporary in NYC in November, as well as several group shows and a mural planned for the summer if they hold!
