HC Berg, born 1971 in Espoo, the second largest town in Finland, began his studies at the Nordic Art School in Karleby, Finland. From 1998 – 1999, he took part in a student exchange program in the sculpture department at the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki. He received his M.A. in 1999 from the University of Art and Design, Ceramics and Glass in Helsinki. Within the framework of the Erasmus Exchange Program, he spent 1999 - 2002 at the Escola Massana, Centre D’Art i Disseny, in Barcelona. Berg counts among the most important artists in Scandinavia. Since 1997, he has exhibited his works in numerous solo and group shows, both nationally and internationally.

Berg is also fascinated by colour, light and virtual movement. He says, “I seek to create physical spaces where I can communicate both physically and spiritually with the viewer. In my work of glass I use its fundamental qualities, such as fragility and the ability to absorb and reflect light, as inspiration for my symbolic language.“ (1) Berg also makes transparent boxes with internal colour, aiming to accentuate certain principles of visual understanding, such as optical illusions, visual irritation and the transformation of objects as influenced by light. His warped images in mirrors demand that the beholder constantly re-defines his/her position, not only in relation to the specific artwork, but also in relation to those customary ways in which we perceive art, and, by extension, the world.

The works of HC Berg are full of energy, which casts a spell on the beholder. The works of the series “Visual vortex pulsating impacts” are illuminated boxes making you feel that the liquid in them is moving to and fro. The bright and harmonious colours have a soothing quality contrasting against the pretended movement. The mirror works of HC Berg, which are embedded in the wall, convey a fascinating width and depth. The mirrors render the surrounding space in a distorted and disfigured way, as, like in a cabinet of mirrors, the mirrors have been produced with various degrees of warping, leading to visual and conceptual uncertainty, which, in turn, demands a redefinition of one’s positions.

There is also a reference to energy in its various forms, especially in relation to movement, real or virtual, thus placing the act of seeing into a framework encompassing the universal processes of communication.

Recent exhibitions:

Camouflage, 15.6.2012–7.10.2012, Kiasma - Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland

Solaris Sauna, 2011, in Kollaboration mit Mika Ihanus in Turku, Europäische Kulturhauptstadt