Fine Art
Simonette Berry is a multimedia artist from New Orleans who is interested in the natural world, the human form, social rituals, and painting doorways into surreal worlds.
Recent Work
Painting things that brought contemplation and joy in an otherwise bleak and fearful time in the world was a coping mechanism for the pandemic. Simonette experimented with materials, using old bargeboard she found on the Mississippi River, layered different mediums on canvas, and painted plen-air, from photos, and from imagination.
Fighters
Whether you’re sparring opponents on the mats or battling cancer for months on end, there is a fire inside the human spirit, an unquenchable spark of life and determination to survive. That spark is what inspired the Fighter series. The metal leaf on each canvas has been treated with heat and chemicals to create mesmerizing patters. Using fire and abrasion to create something beautiful is symbolic of the extreme rituals martial artists engage in, pushing themselves past the limit time and time again. The face of a fighter is testament to the strength of the human spirit.
Figurative Work
Simonette describes much of her work as “Magic Realism,” inspired by the literary style that bears the same name. She tries to capture not only what the eye sees but what lies just beneath the fabric of reality, one step into the next world.
Landscapes, Surreal, and Abstract Work
Simonette is obsessed with clouds and water. She paints plein-air whenever she can. She loves to get lost in the landscapes that surround her when she travels, in her own backyard on the Mississippi River, and in her studio when the South Louisiana mosquitoes start to eat her.
