Volcano Art Center is proud to announce the exhibition titled Up Close by Marian Berger on display daily, 9am -5pm from April 30th – June 5th, 2016 at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The exhibition features dramatic, close up, watercolor portraits of native birds with proceeds benefiting the San Diego Zoo Global, Hawaiian Endangered Bird Conservation Program.
Continuing in the spirit of John James Audubon’s style, the watercolor paintings featured in this Up Close collection are presented in the classic double elephant folio size measuring 26” x 39.5.”
“At this scale the viewer has no choice but to be “Up Close” and intimate with these special birds, observing details that we would never get to see otherwise” states gallery manager Emily C. Weiss. Weiss also mentions that this exhibit begins a series of programs and events benefiting San Diego Zoo Global’s Hawai‘i’s Endangered Bird Recovery Program including the re-introduction of the Hawaiian ‘Alalā this fall.
The exhibit is open to the public and free of charge although park entrance fees apply.
A special opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 30th from 5-7 pm at VAC gallery.
About the Artist
Born in Limerick, Ireland, the daughter of a meteorologist, Marian spent her early childhood on Wake Island and in Alaska where she acquired her father’s love of science, her mother’s artistic bent, and her parent’s mutual love of the outdoors. Marian focused on abstract painting in her earliest endeavors until she took a class in representational drawing at Humboldt State University. After graduating with a degree in wildlife management, Marian moved to the Big Island in 1976.
Marian had her first one-woman show at Volcano Art Center Gallery and has had several since. In 1987, she created a series of paintings of Hawai‘i’s endangered birds and plants for the Aston Kaua‘i Resort. An edition of 2000 prints were published, and proceeds from the sales were given to the Hawai‘i Nature Conservancy. In 1988, she painted a number of watercolors presented to U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye and U.S. Representative Daniel Akaka for their contributions in preserving Hawai‘i’s native wildlife. In 2009 and 2010 she won top honors for her entries in the Hawai‘i Nei Art Contest celebrating native species. In 2006 she was commissioned to paint the Living Endemic Birds of Hawai‘i, a series of Audubon style paintings which she completed in 2011. Following the success of the Living Endemic Birds of Hawai‘i and the awareness and financial support the exhibition provided to Hawai‘i’s Endangered Bird Recovery Programs, discussion on a follow up project began. Marian’s stunning watercolor close up of an I’iwi inspired this new Up Close collection, which then took Marian more than three years to complete.
