Evelyn Berde
Leaving the River

November 16 – December 3, 2009
Arnheim Gallery

Opening reception:  November 18, 5-9 pm

Gallery hours:  Mon. – Sat.  10-6

Evelyn Berde was a classmate of John Crowe’s at MassArt  and an adjunct faculty member in our department in the late 1980s. After more than thirty years as a practicing artist and educator, Evelyn returns to MassArt this fall with her latest work, a multi-media installation incorporating paintings, photographs, and sculptures that become a testament to the power of art as a force for survival and transcendence.

Evelyn is currently Artist-in-Residence at Children’s Hospital. She has taught in her studio for many years, has been a volunteer art consultant in the Brookline Public Schools since 1993, and has contributed to many community projects.

In Leaving the River, Evelyn looks back at her childhood in the Old West End of Boston, which was being demolished as she grew up. Her older brother drowned in the Charles when she was six. She had congenital scoliosis and endured difficult medical procedures throughout her childhood and adolescence.

Mass Art changed Evelyn’s life. Art helped her transcend destruction, deformity, and depression. Her life as an art educator and artist has evolved from the journey she maps in “Leaving the River.”

See More images in the Gallery.

Evelyn’s homepage:  www.evelynberde.com