Gerry Bergstein has been widely considered one of the most influential painters in this region since the 1980s.  Now in his early sixties, Bergstein’s penchant for producing eruptions of unexpected imagery is undiminished.  His newest work teems with cascading figures plucked from art history and his own life.  It’s a centuries-spanning reunion of Bergstein’s very extended family of relatives, friends, and figures he’s borrowed from the work of Jean-Leon Gerome, Rene Magritte, Max Beckmann, Vija Celmins, John Currin, Matt Groening and many, many others.

In November, both this new work and a thirty-year retrospective are presented in two overlapping exhibitions.  Gerry Bergstein: Elements of Style (a.k.a. the new work) runs from November 13 through December 19 at Gallery NAGA.  The retrospective, Gerry Bergstein: Effort at Speech, organized by Katherine French, director of the Danforth Museum of Art, runs from November 18 through March 14 at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, Massachusetts.  This will be the first comprehensive look at Bergstein’s career since 1989, when the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum mounted Gerry Bergstein: The Surrealism of Everyday Life.

A reception for the artist and the public will be held at Gallery NAGA on Friday, November 13 from 6 to 8 pm.  A reception for the Danforth exhibition, also open to the public, will be held on Saturday, November 21 from 6 to 8 pm.  Bergstein gives a free public talk, Painting Broke My Heart, at Gallery NAGA on Saturday, December 5 at 2 pm.

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