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2011

LOS MURCIÉLAGOS Work of Daniel Berman

Catalog of projects developed in the gallery Arte Cocodrilo

and the workshop of Pata de Perro

DANIEL BERMANETCHINGS, PRINTS AND PAINTINGS

HOMBRE EXPOSICIÓN DE LISTOGALERÍA CUARTO CONTEMPORÁNEO, OAX., 2011

SPECIAL THANKS TOPHOTOGRAPHER, CRISTOBAL TREJO &MARY SCHAFRATH OF MS DESIGNS (AN AMAZING COLLABORATIVE DUO)

msdesigns.us

Daniel Berman is a painter, draughtsman and printmaker who was born in Veracruz and now lives in Oaxcaca. His paintings are full of explosive energy and movement, with flow-ing brush strokes that evoke organic forms. In his painting and printmaking he exercises complete freedom of form in a semi-abstract way, building up texture and intricate detail. In all these different processes, distorted hu-man figures play a central role, recalling both primitive and folk art.

He showed artistic leanings from a very young age, copying comics along with cartoons and animations from the television. Comic-book art remains a strong reference in his work and he lists Robert Crumb as one of his key influ-ences. My images are currently plagued with references to a certain comic aesthetic, text mixed with images, characters, the idea of a story that’s not linear,” he says. ‘My intention is to achieve a type of narrative about my own development as an author.’

los murciélagos//

Berman describes his work as codifying my experiences into images, ‘emphasizing the direct influence of his day-to-day encounters and interactions on his work-ing method: ‘It’s like a constant soliloquy that is a direct reaction of my surroundings. I seek to understand the things that I see and experience. Sar-casm, irony, black humor - these are all aspects of his process. There is no spe-cific message in my work other than to function as a mirror. What I do is a di-rect reflection of my everyday surround-ings and even though I don’t make a textural or literal translation of this environment, all of these experiences start to form a narrative or constructive line that allows me to continue produc-ing ideas and images.’

Berman enjoys taking his work to the streets, explaining, ‘It is important for me not to be be reliant on a pencil or a sheet of paper when I work; I need to be able to go out in the street and work

from there. Direct contact with people and being in the city, the country or the environment in general are experi-ences that broaden one’s scope as an artist or an author.’

His working method varies depending on the medium that best suits his expression at the time. ‘I try to work in stages,’ he ex-plains. ‘For example, I may focus on going out in the street to do something - to paint, walk, search for something - and at other times I devote myself exclusively to print-making. Ideas that I’m not able to work through in a sketch I complete in a draw-ing, or vice versa, what I can’t achieve there I search for in painting, and so on.’ In the same way he builds up his images in stages, adding and removing layers of color and detail - a process particularly suited to print-making.

“It’s like a constant soliloquy that is a direct reaction of my surroundings. I seek to understand the things that I see and experience.”

Berman has both a strong global and national cultural awareness that underpins his work, enhanced by his own travels as well as his constant research. ‘Ele-ments of Mexican popular culture mixed with ele-ments of global popular cul-ture give shape and content to my work.’ he explains. ‘My first explorations of Vera-cruz also deeply marked the way I worked. This was the first contact I had with the traditions of my heritage, the music, land-scapes, characters, costumes, culture in general - my initial sources of inspiration. Now new sources of information have also infiltrated and enriched my work, includ-ing my online meanderings.’ Berman also feels at home in the creative environment of Oaxaca. He explains, ‘Oaxaca allows direct contact with traditions so vast that it becomes an incredibly fertile environ-ment in which to create. For me this city’s very traditional art is an invaluable source of inspiration.’

Beman’s evocative woodcuts and etchings have been exhibited throughout Mexico, as well as in the USA and Tokyo. While he continues to travel, he says that “it’s the day-to-day that makes me work. The im-possibility of staying still and cooped up in a room without doing something.”

“Elements of Mexican popular culture mixed with elements of global popular culture give shape and con-tent to my work.”

In all these different processes, distorted human figures play a central role, recalling both primitive and folk art.

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paintings are full of explosive energy and movement, with flowing brush strokes that evoke organic forms.

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