Grandest French Knot

Barbara M. Berk

My journey has been circuitous: a childhood love of fabric and sewing; a Master’s Degree in Russian History; over 15 years in magazine publishing. My introduction to antique jewelry led to studies in gemology and bench techniques – and the discovery that my true passion is working directly with metal. I learned that metal can be worked like fiber, by hand, yet produce structurally sound 3-dimensional forms. In 1992 I began creating sculptural jewelry with precious metals I wove by hand. By 2013, I was working larger scale, off-the-body, making lace by hand with industrial metals to create wall-mounted, ceiling-suspended and pedestal-supported sculpture.

My work embodies the interplay of metal with traditional fiber techniques and structures. Working directly with stainless steel and phosphor bronze wire, I use Renaissance stitches to make ribbons and crescents of bobbin lace by hand. I then curve, loop, twist, interweave, layer, sew, embroider, filigree, weld and polish the flat lace “fabric” into 3-dimensional sculptural forms.

My work is represented in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in private collections in California, Florida and New York, and was selected for “On the Edge”: The de Young Open, at the M. H. de Young Museum in San Francisco, CA (2020 – 2021).

Exhibitions in museums, art centers and galleries most recently include A Question of Balance: Selected Works from Pacific Rim Sculptors juried by Jeff Nathanson, MSC Executive Director and Art Curator, and Kate Eilertson, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, at the Museum of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, CA (2024); She/They: Pacific Rim Sculptors, juried by Lauren Baines, interim Director of the de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA at Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA (2024); The Flame Within, Metal Artistry Unleashed, curated biennial Metal Arts Guild member exhibition at ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA (2023); Finding the Form: Bay Area Sculpture, curated by Shiva Pakdel at Sausalito Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA (2023); International Fiber Arts XI, juried by fiber artists Judith Content and Ann Johnston at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA (2023).

My work has been published in MFA Never, the 2020 Archive Project, Root Division, San Francisco, CA (2020); the 1st Annual Jewelry and Metals Survey, juried by Vivian Beer, Cornelie Holzach, and Alan Revere, published by Metalsmith Magazine/Society of North American Goldsmiths (2017); and in Textile Techniques in Metal: for Jewelers, Textile Artists and Sculptors, by Arline M. Fisch (2018, 2001, 1996).

I presented “Transcending Textile Structures: Weaving and Lace Making with Metal”, an Artist Talk, at Ruth’s Table Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2019), and “Textile Techniques in Metal: (Un)Familiar Materials, (Un)Expected Methods” at the 8th Annual Portland Jewelry Symposium, Portland, OR (2015). I have taught at art centers and schools across the country, including the 92nd Street Y (NY); the University of California Extension/Santa Cruz (CA); the Mendocino Art Center (CA); and Metalwerx (MA).

Email: barbara@barbaraberkdesigns.com
Website: www.BarbaraBerkDesigns.com
Instagram: barbaramberk