Karlyn Atkinson Berg

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Taking Flight
18″x18″; hand-cut collage, transfer and acrylic on Clayboard; 2015

Karlyn Atkinson Berg
Bovey, Minnesota, USA

STATEMENT

Collage has always been my primary medium. I approach the collage as a painting not a mere assembly of pictures. As I collect materials, they seem to connect individually or in groups and from those materials, I begin to see an interaction in space and form, arranging colors and shapes.

A single colour, shape or image may spark an entire composition. I am fascinated with arranging colours and shapes; searching intuitively for visual meaning until a finished piece finally emerges. Each added element will build on the previous one by changing, adding, or even result in eliminating the other components.

I allow the work to evolve and transform until the work seems to emerge from the complex contradictions or similitude, and multiplicity of the forms, edges, textures, shapes, space and even unrelated content.

BIO

Karlyn graduated from Rhode Island School of Design, continued graduate studies at Pratt University in printmaking, in education at New York University and trained as an actress at the Lee Strasberg Actors studio. Karlyn pursued her career as painter and collage artist while working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Karlyn travelled to Minnesota in 1973 to embark on what was thought to be a temporary enterprise to work for the conservation of the Timber Wolf. But, Karlyn remained as the wolf work escalated and she established The Wildlife Education Program and Design. She used her artistic talents to work on many wildlife projects and illustrated and designed educational materials about the wolf, wetlands, and bears. She also served as a environmental/historical consultant and designer for the Science Museum of Minnesota to help create acclaimed “Wolves and Humans” Exhibit and wrote and illustrated the educational materials for the project. Karlyn still presents programs on wolf conservation with her huge traveling wolf display.

While becoming internationally recognized for her work and expertise on wolves, canids, predators and predator control issues Karlyn continued to paint and pursue her career as an artist. Karlyn lives in the north woods of Minnesota with her two German Shepherds. Her hobbies are dog training and dog tracking and kayaking. She is the administrative assistant at the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork, Minnesota.

ARTIST CONTACT

[click to email]
www.karlynatkinsonberg.com

IMAGES

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Coyote Tries to Survive the City
12″x12″; hand-cut collage and acrylic on Clayboard; 2014

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Enigma Makes an Emergency Landing
17.75″x17.75″; hand-cut collage and acrylic on Clayboard; 2016

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They Grew Against the Quivering Light
8″x8″; hand-cut collage and acrylic on Clayboard; 2016

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Memory Throws Up High…A Crowd of Twisted Things
12″x12″; hand-cut collage and acrylic on Clayboard; 2014