Untitled (Primary Title)
Will Berry, American, active in Mexico, born 1954 (Artist)
The drawings remain a pretext for the investigation of light, even as they bring into reality a personal interest in Mestazaje . . . a cultural fusion recorded in the hybridization of visual imagery. —Will Berry
Berry is an American who has lived in Mexico for the past decade. He paints with metals and related elements—including graphite, aluminum, and white lead—to create reflective surfaces on which his images appear and disappear as the viewer’s position shifts. Berry’s images include plants, figures, and decorative patterns based on architectural ornamentation. Here the oval shapes on a silvery field reveal themselves as the underside of human skulls, precariously piled. The skulls speak broadly to art historical themes of life and death, and specifically to Mexican culture, including Day of the Dead celebrations.
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