San Francisco artist Timothy Berryshows a new series of paintings
evolving from his ongoing exploration of humankind's futile struggle
to control nature. Berry draws from the decorative arts of the past
two centuries, which reflected our efforts to contain the wild beauty
of nature through stylized representations of flora and fauna. These
historical patterns are turned into paintings that seem themselves
on the verge of exploding from their borders, literally like wildflowers.

These wildflowers have, in fact, escaped their stylized bondage and
roam freely in a series of newer paintings. In these, Berry recalls one
of his earliest lessons in art as a child: the paint-by-numbers set.
Images of animals segmented and numbered offer a wry analogy to
our attempts at mastering the natural world. Another childhood symbol,
the Easter egg, also comes into play. Berry is interested in the evolution
of secular holidays from their religious origins -- which leads to, for
example, the bizarre association of egg hunts and chocolate bunnies
with Christ's resurrection. Another reference to our appropriation of
nature to decorative ends, the Easter egg is also a potent symbol of life
and renewal -- in Berry's world, nature always wins.