I paint because it gives me access to another world. A world in which I cannot articulate or express in any other way.
I delight in finding/discovering objects, subjects, ideas, scenarios, or concepts that appear to be one way, then explore and interpret them in a different, playful, deeper, humorous, eye-opening, twisted, bold or fun way.
I do this through color palettes, composition, perspective, configuration according to the size/shape of the substrate, mediums, or layers.
My favorite description about my work:
“Lynne Bernbaum explores the geometry within nature and the nature of geometry within fine art by responding to a variety of external stimuli found in her surroundings on the Caribbean island of Anguilla, where she has lived and worked for the past three decades. By overlooking the elements of pattern, subject, colour palette and composition with the refinement of style and a whimsical seriousness, she achieves startling and graphically compelling results in her paintings.“
Robert Bean, filmmaker
Other quotes:
“Then of course there is the ingenious work of Bernbaumʼs domino series, something that is dimenished when put into words.”
The New Art House, D.L. Adams Talks About Art (Absolutely Anguilla)
“She draws from the geometric fragments at the heart of nature, and then transposes surfaces and volumes to her paintings. A dose of personal fantasy and Lynne Bernbaumʼs sober, refined, yet somewhat mischievous style, asserts itself, in an accomplished work. Her point of departure remains Caribbean, the evidence of a more intimate aesthetic search, which plays on the dichotomy between a rigorously graphic style and impish detail which crowns this harmonious puzzle.”
Claude Cavallera, (Caribbean ART)
“Anguilla has a number of talented resident artists from around the world. One of the best is American Lynne Bernbaum, whose George Hill studio features her bold images…”
Sherry Marker/New York Times, (Frommerʼs)
“Lynne Bernbaum has an innate faculty of observation and a visible sense of humor. The slices of life depicted with talent in her work are filled with judiciousness and humanism. After the ʻumbrellasʼ and the ʻmarketsʼ dressed with modest elegance in monochromatism, the ʻdominoesʼ are a joyous explosion of color and zest for life under the Tropics.You want to be part of the game and arrange her paintings in varying patterns on your wall surfaces. Even the shape of her canvases is an invitation to do so, as each is a rectangle equal to two side by side squares.”
The Art of Playing, Patrick Poive de la Fréta (Discover, St.Martin, F.W.I.)
“Immediately obvious to anyone confronted with her art are her expert manipulation of perspective and the important role played by geometric shapes in her paintings.” “Similarly, more abstract explorations look closely at the relation of objects on the canvas, relying heavily on principles of proportion and composition to create a coherent whole.” “Wheather you identify a surreal landscape or an ironic still life when you look at her collection, one thing is certain-you wonʼt find anything comparable this side of the Caribbean.”
In the Hot Seat ʻLa Joie de Peintreʼ, Montague Kobbe (The Daily Herald, St.Maarten)
“…(LB)can motion us to seek a new emotional reality without falling into such contrasts, It is here, in this journey through contrasts, where the sensations surface and manifest themselves, where the senses select and derive the emotion from the sphere which later will become a testimony revealed by the particular esteem that the knowledge of the seized has awoken in every one of us.”
ʻLynne Bernbaum: memories and contrastsʼ, Juan Antonio Tinte (El Puntode Las Artes, Madrid)
“They are fragments, portrayed in rapid and sure drawings, where we can appreciate a grand skill in the usage of a difficult technique as is watercolors, where there is no room for corrrections.
Perhaps the most notorious characteristic of her paintings, besides her vast technical skill, is her reduction of color, through which she is able to say so much with so little.”
Teresa Fernández Pereyra (Critica de ARTE, Madrid)
“Paintings where playfulness and novelty are elevated to high Art.”
“They accomplish what art intends to do….evoke a reaction and contemplation.”
Robert Bean (Filmmaker, USA)
“Her paintings are extremely fine with superimposed subject, colors and geometric forms. On her canvas: typical Caribbean market sceneries or domino games. The sun umbrellas or rain umbrellas are present everywhere, allowing the artist to play with shadows & lights, a game of hide and seek to which brings to her art plentiful life and also sweet serenity”.
‘Exposition: Lynne Bernbaum, Espace Athena’ (Côte du Goëlo, Quest-France)
Lynne Bernbaum has exhibited in numerous institutions and galleries throughout the USA, Europe, the Caribbean and Canada for the last 35 years, along with her works being collected internationally. Her masterful skill and expertise in various media bespeaks the work of a mature and dedicated artist.