LANCASTER – The works of painter Ruth Bernard and her brother, the late ceramics artist Sid Bernard, will be showcased Oct. 5-31 at the Art Place in the East Building of the Lancaster Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, 1641 Old Philadelphia Pike. A free art show reception is scheduled 4-6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9. The public is invited.
“The Same but Different” shows the different artistic styles despite the same heritage and upbringing.
Sid Bernard, who passed away in January, taught art in the Bristol (Conn.) Public School system for 25 years up until his death. His style encompassed a wide range, yet he always returned to producing large decorative pieces with his creative use of glazes and underglazes in his home studio in Litchfield, Conn.
He received his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Alfred (N.Y.) University, and a master’s degree in fine arts from The Claremont (Calif.) Graduate School. He was active in the art community in New Haven, Conn., and commissioned to produce and install a large piece of public art in the upper Chapel Street neighborhood. His ceramics have been shown throughout the U.S. and Canada, receiving numerous awards and the pieces now residing in private and public collections. Sid Bernard was also a published writer in the national arts magazine, “Ceramics Monthly.”
Ruth Bernard’s attachment to past expressionists is apparent in her work. She begins in a place of unknowing and discovers the subject and content as she paints. A twisting and turning of space, distortion and exaggeration, strong color and texture add to her expression of rage and conflict.
"The extremely lavish fruit and flower paintings have always intrigued me because their over the top depiction of the bountiful and lavish world. I use elements of expressionism using distortion and pushing or exaggerating the color,” said Ruth Bernard. “My attempt is to express a world no longer elegant and giving of riches, but one that is dangerous and verges on chaos.”
While the subject of the painting may be a still life, landscape or figure, Ruth Bernard uses bright colors to draw views into the paintings, hoping the viewer will realize the metaphor of the work.
Ruth Bernard earned a certificate in fine arts from the School of the Worcester (Mass.) Art Museum, followed by a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in fine arts from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and Queens College, College University of New York in New York City, respectively. She is now an adjunct instructor at HACC’s Lancaster Campus and Penn State Berks Campus.
Her work is in the collections at the Lancaster Museum of Art, Bank of Boston, Susquehanna Bank Shares, Buchanan & Ingersol Attorneys at Law and more. She received a professional development grant for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and a fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center. She is also represented by the Bowery Gallery in New York City.
Public hours for the art show are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. For more information, contact Judith Johnson, art show coordinator, at HACC’s Lancaster Campus, at 358-2201.
