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January 30, 2025 - May 3, 2025
Sponsored by City of Bakersfield
The Exhibit
Illumination can represent both light and a profound intellectual or spiritual awakening. Both are themes central to Kelly Berg's exhibition Illuminated Earth. Her work explores light as both a physical and metaphorical force, weaving together themes of nature’s beauty, power, and impermanence. Light manifests dynamically across her work, from the luminous layers of her paintings to the Mojave Pyramidion, a color-shifting mirrored sculpture surrounded by lava rocks. As viewers move around the pyramid, it reflects both the gallery and their own image, offering a meditative experience that bridges self-reflection with an appreciation of nature’s transformative forces.
Berg’s work investigates the intersections of geology, archeology, and human experience, presenting landscapes that are simultaneously primordial and personal. Rivers of lava, tectonic rifts, and volcanic eruptions flow through her compositions, where chaos and order coexist. Geometric elements like pyramids and obelisks frame these dynamic scenes, symbolizing ancient energy and the cycles of destruction and renewal. By employing a Renaissance-inspired glazing technique, Berg creates a radiant depth that reinforces her exploration of time, transformation, and humanity’s place within the natural world.
Beyond the studio, Berg’s artistic practice takes her directly into geological landscapes, where she creates and documents her portable “leave no trace” pyramid sculptures. Many of the works in this exhibition are informed by these on-site experiences, including her Mojave Pyramidion and outdoor installations inspired by residencies in Joshua Tree and Naples, Italy. Through this integration of personal journey and geological storytelling, Berg invites viewers to engage with the sublime mysteries of the earth, inspiring both curiosity and a deeper connection to our ever-changing planet.
Artist Biography
Kelly Berg, artist
Photo by Alan Shaffer
Kelly Berg (b. 1986, Concord, Massachusetts) was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is currently based in Los Angeles, California. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. Berg has presented solo exhibitions at Craig Krull Gallery, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, The Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery at Santa Monica College, and The Lancaster Museum of Art and History.
Berg was the outdoor featured artist for “Art & Nature 2022” at the Laguna Art Museum and created an interactive installation “Pyramidion”, featuring seven large-scale reflective pyramid sculptures placed in the landscape of Laguna Beach.
Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at many notable venues including USC Fisher Museum of Art, Museo Ercolanense Portici - Napoli in Italy, The Los Angeles International Airport, The Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery at California State University, The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University, and The Manhattan Beach Arts Center.
Berg’s work is part of the permanent collection of The Lancaster Museum of Art and History, The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, and many private and corporate collections. Berg was an artist-in-residence at the Art 1307 Cultural Institution in Naples, Italy (2019) and at Boxo Projects in Joshua Tree, California (2021). During both residencies she created works in dialogue with the landscape and the unique geologic features specific to those locations. Her work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Whitehot Magazine, Artillery Magazine, Curator, Art Miami Magazine, Quiet Lunch, Art Now LA, Art & Cake, Stu News, and Easy Reader News among many other publications, and was the subject of an episode of Santa Monica City TV’s “Wave Arts and Culture” television series.
Images
Events
Exhibition Tours
Free with your BMoA Membership
Curatorial Tour | Saturday, February 8
Curatorial Tour | Saturday, March 8
Artist-led Tour | Friday, April 11
Artists on Artists
Saturday, April 12
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
$20 non-members | $10 senior/students | FREE to BMoA Members
Join artists Luciana Abait from Fractured Geographies and Kelly Berg from Illuminated Earth in Artists on Artists, as they engage in an intimate one-on-one discussion about their craft and work, providing insight into their creative process and how their work highlights the relationship between person and place.