Rachel Berwick

Rachel Berwick (born 1962) is an American visual artist whose sculptural installations explore themes of extinction and loss in the natural world.[1][2]

Rachel Berwick
Artist Rachel Berwick with Galapagos Tortoises while filming for her Installation "Lonesome George"
Born1962 (age 60–61)
Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationRhode Island School of Design, Yale School of Art

Early life

Born in Somers Point, New Jersey, Berwick grew up in a rural setting where she gained an appreciation for nature and biology. Berwick studied sculptural arts in the glass department at Rhode Island School of Design. She received her B.F.A. in 1984, and her M.F.A. from Yale School of Art in 1989.[3]

Career

Berwick is the head of the Glass Department at RISD.[4]

Artwork

Berwick has created art installations focused on bird migrations,[5] language transmission,[6] and dying species,[7] often taking inspiration from the animal world. Inspired by Martha (passenger pigeon), Berwick cast 500 amber bird sculptures from a preserved passenger pigeon specimen for her installation entitled A Vanishing; Martha (2003–2005).[8] For her living installation, entitled may-por-é (1996–present), Berwick trained parrots to mimic sounds and words from the Maipure language, as documented in the writings and research of Alexander von Humboldt.[9] In her mixed-media video installation, entitled Lonesome George (2005–2010), Berwick invites the viewer to reflect upon the extinction of a species of Galápagos tortoise.[10]

Berwick's art has been exhibited internationally[11] and she has received many awards and fellowships, including the Anonymous Was A Woman Award (1996),[12] a Smithsonian Artists Research Fellowship (2008),[13] the Joan Mitchell Fellowship (2012),[14] a Connecticut Artists Fellowship (2012), and a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Artists Residency (2015).[15]

References
  1. "Nico Israel on Rachel Berwick". www.artforum.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  2. "Rachel Berwick | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  3. Springer, Claudia (2002). "Rachel Berwick: Economies of Desire". Woman's Art Journal. 23 (2): 16–20. doi:10.2307/1358703. ISSN 0270-7993. JSTOR 1358703.
  4. "Rachel Berwick | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  5. Krinsky, Anne (2010). "Decoding Art in Science". Art New England. 31 (2): 26–28.
  6. "Frances Richard on Rachel Berwick". www.artforum.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  7. Thompson, Nato (2005). Becoming Animal: Contemporary Art in the Animal Kingdom. MIT Press. pp. 32–38. ISBN 9780262201612.
  8. Kurin, Richard (October 25, 2016). The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-312815-1.
  9. "Parrots speak lost rainforest tongue". The Independent. April 1, 2000. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  10. Freeman, Carol; Leane, Elizabeth; Watt, Yvette (2011). Considering Animals: Contemporary Studies in Human-animal Relations. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7546-9863-0.
  11. "Rachel Berwick - Biography". www.artnet.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  12. "Recipients to Date". Anonymous Was A Woman. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  13. Goodyear, Anne Collins; Weitekamp, Margaret A. (October 30, 2013). Analyzing Art and Aesthetics. Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 978-1-935623-23-6.
  14. "Rachel Berwick". Joan Mitchell Foundation. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  15. "Past Residents Captiva | Robert Rauschenberg Foundation". www.rauschenbergfoundation.org. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
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