"I am persuaded that we are unconsciously very fascinated by interiors of buildings because these are the places in which we spend the largest part of our lives."
—Pierre Bergian
In the studio of artist Pierre Bergian of Ghent, Belgium. Contact the following galleries to reach Pierre: Purdy Hicks, London; Octavia Art Gallery, New Orleans; Gerald Bland, New York, and Emily Eerdmans of Eerdmans Gallery, New York.
"Pierre Bergian: Portraits of Rooms" opens at Eerdmans gallery, New York, April 6 — May 28, 2021.
Pierre and I "met" on Instagram. For all the trappings and annoyances delivered by social media, I am grateful for the friends I may otherwise never have met, very grateful indeed. Pierre was born in Bruges, 1965, and studied art history and archeology at the University of Ghent, though he has always been interested in architecture. His work is part of the permanent collection of The British Museum. His solo exhibits include: Purdy Hicks Gallery, London; Octavia Art Gallery, New Orleans; Gallerie Laurent de Puybaudet, Paris; Gerald Bland, New York; Gallerie Josine Bokhoven, Amsterdam. His work draws the praise of design-world-A-listers like Charlotte Moss, and Alex Papachristidis.
1. Tell me something about the upcoming exhibition, Pierre, at Eerdmans, New York, before we delve into your life.
These are historical portraits, mostly of fashion designers' and decorators' homes. I love modern design, but the rich interiors of all these names, are so imaginative. What a world to discover! Lots of modern design is annoying compared to the world of Channel, Duquette, Castaing, Fowler, Letan, Lagerfeld, YSL, Baldwin, Elsie de Wolfe, Albert Hadley, Sister Parish... working with their interiors to develop my drawings and paintings, is so inspiring. I discover a quite unusual world. Of course these works are different from my empty interiors ... While painting them I feel more like a pianist playing Chopin or Liszt, playing the compositions of someone else. But it is very interesting for me and opens my mind and style!
2. How did the metaphysical sense of an empty room become the subject of your art and how has your childhood influenced your art?
When I was a child, I loved to discover old, abandoned houses in Bruges, Lille, and Ghent. They were mostly empty and rather dark, without artificial light. I was drawn to them. Similarly, I am very fond of the Italian metaphysical paintings of the twentieth century, particularly the way in which walls, windows, floors, and furniture communicate with natural light. Being intetersed in light is not exceptional for a painter. I must specify, though, that I never paint artificial light. I love some sunshine coming in a room, with a lot of shadow. I also like the light of the winter sun, entering very deeply, and moonlight, especially in old houses, when it reflects on the walls, floors, and ceilings. Light in a building can be so delicate.
Also when I was a child, my family and I visited museums, artists' studios, and collectors' interiors. I was, and still am, captivated by rooms filled with an artistic mess, with paintings piled up against the wall. However, emptiness holds me, too. I don't know why, but I prefer interiors or landscapes without people. In this way, my paintings are a little similar to still life. While there are no people, the spaces are not really empty, but are more or less abandoned, giving them a slightly surrealistic touch. My paintings are meant to be poetic.; I am not interested in any conceptual meaning, but am intrigued by the interiors of buildings because these are the places in which we spend the largest part of our lives.
I have an interest in the Italian Giorgio de Chirico, master of stillness, and his explanation of the metaphysical element in his paintings. My work is more northern, nearer to Hammershoi, and my Belgian predecessor Magritte, with similar references to "possibility."
3. What is your process when composing a painting?
Before I begin painting, I often make sketches of interiors. Some of these are quite "realistic," while others are more or less compilations of what I've seen, perhaps impressions of reality. While painting or sketching, I imagine walking through spaces, opening windows, doors, and passages, and then closing others so as to create another perspective, light, or atmosphere. Sometimes this can be seen on the paintings, where underlying layers of paint, or even interiors, might be visible. I use fragments of older paintings in new rooms, often as a mirror, and this makes the work more like an archeological object that contains layers of different periods. Thus, my paintings are in some way a meeting of history, archeology, and architecture.
"Bergian's goal of creating atmosphere instead of a mirror image of reality makes him a visual poet of the interior."
—Frances Borzello
4. Which influences and artists have significantly impacted your work?
As a collector I meet so many different people, everywhere, I know tile/ ceramic collectors from NY and London to Amsterdam. So I do travel quite a lot and meet lots of people with amazing collections and houses. For we collectors, doors open quite easily. During one of my travels I was in the marvelous city of Milan, where I walked into a small gallery where I discovered the fascinating work of William Congdon!! (* the late American Abstract Expressionist painter William Congdon is a relative of mine)
There is still something interesting to know about Belgium. The country as you know is in the middle of Europe. As we speak Dutch and French we feel as at home in the northern and the southern reaches of Europe.That places the Belgian in a comfortable and special relationship. We easily travel from Paris to Amsterdam and have friends everywhere. The tiles that I discovered in Holland, along with but not limited to the ceramics of Delft, and the famous Dutch painters of the seventeenth century, have inspired my interiors!
My continued discoveries in London's museums influence my art. I love the UK! Not only because of my amiable working relationship with my gallery there, Purdy Hicks, but also because of the wealth of British art. I love the 19th and 20th century. A great many painters from England, Scotland, and Wales are unknown on the Continent and forgotten in lots of art books. London was where I first saw paintings of the Danish Vilhelm Hammershoi. I discovered him quite late, and recognize in his work a similar fascination for emptiness and natural light and darkness. There are so many artists of the 19th and the 20th century that would be rediscovered, both men and women! Art historian Frances Borzello has written on this topic, and also, the women who have painted in an unusual and delicate style, then were neglected by history.
I admire the work of the 17th century Delft artist de Hooch, with layers of color, suggestive strokes, as a parallel to the emotion of history.
Also that of the German romantic, Casper David Friedrich, whose window landscapes are a metaphor for the spiritual realm which lies beyond the room.
5. I remember when we first spoke, you were about to break onto the New Orleans art scene, June 2020, and now again, in New York, what has been your experience, and how does the culture of art and its reception differ between the two spheres?
I am comfortable in the Anglo Saxon world. I find an inherent familiarity with the artists and collectors both in the UK and the US who love my work. It must excite their imagination. The architecture of these parts of the world inspire me so much! I love the Anglo-American neoclassicism. In the coming years I will definitely travel more in your part of the world!
"I try to sniff out the mysterious atmosphere of all the places and images. A result you can entirely get through photography. I prefer to work with a brush and paint.The process is slow, but you give the image more time to penetrate the mind."
—Pierre Bergian
6. What are your favorites in literature and music?
I read a lot, but I am not a connoisseur of literature... I do read a lot of nonfiction on art, architecture, archeology... I love to listen to music, from Jazz to classic, but I don't remember all the names. But I work well with and am inspired by 19th century music, from Schubert to Rossini, like everyone. I love also the 20th century specifically Britten and Walton for the British composers, and Samuel Berber, Copland, and Glass for the United States. They bring me into empty spaces and their sound is so mysterious, which is an important element of art for me, as art is emotional! I am not a fan of rational and conceptual art.
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