“I truly believe each artist works and learns differently. We are taught from a young age to draw within the lines, to start with a more linear approach. My hope with this workshop is to show another way, a way that veers into a place of exploration, curiosity, and surprises. I like to think of my technique as a sort of “free- fall”, where time allows for those intuitive marks to come to the surface. This method of painting is basically the opposite of alla-prima painting; there is no need to get everything correct from the start. What unfolds when we allow for this exploratory mindset is this beautifully textured and layered tapestry of time and decisions on a canvas.” – Mia Bergeron
Mia Bergeron’s interest in art was cultivated early on, beginning with continuous exposure to visual works through her parents’ graphic design firm in New York City. In 1998, Mia studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. After taking foundational courses at RISD, Mia decided to pursue a more traditional education. In 2002-2005, Mia studied and taught at The Charles H. Cecil Studio in Florence, Italy.
The Cecil Studio is a small private painting atelier primarily focused on the naturalistic tradition of such artists as Van Dyck, Velasquez, and John Singer Sargent. In May 2007, she was a national finalist for the American Artist Magazine Cover competition. In 2010, she was named one of the “Top 21 Artists Under 31 Years Old To Be Collected Now” by SouthWest Art Magazine.
Her painting “Disperse” won both a Certificate of Excellence at the Portrait Society of America’s International Competition, and for Artistic Excellence in SouthWest Art Magazine’s annual competition in 2013. She has served as adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, and is a member of the nationally- recognized group Women Painting Women. Mia’s hope is to use her abilities not only share her views through painting, but also to help bring visibility to other female painters.
Born 1980 New York City, NY
“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” – Buddha
For me, painting is an act of vulnerability. I may have my certain ideas, certain ways of controlling the paint. But at the end of the day, if I have listened closely, my best work is when I walk into unknown territory. I believe life to be the same. Our insecurities and struggles force us to take another look, a longer, more examined look. A look not of knowing, but of searching. This is my aim when I paint: to be curious about what I am seeing and depicting, and to be open to whatever it wants me to notice.
Mia Bergeron’s interest in art was cultivated early on, beginning with continuous exposure to visual works through her parents’ graphic design firm in New York City. As a high school student, Mia pursued the arts both at the curricular and extracurricular levels, and in 1998 she was admitted to the Rhode Island School of Design. After a year of intensive foundation courses, she decided to leave RISD to pursue a more traditional painting program. Between 2002-2005, Mia was a student of classical painting at the Charles H. Cecil Studio in Florence, Italy. The Charles H. Cecil Studio is a small private painting atelier primarily focused on the naturalistic tradition of such artists as Van Dyck, Velasquez, and John Singer Sargent.
Among her various artistic ventures, Mia has focused on charcoal cast, portrait and figure drawing, oil painting, portrait sculpting, copies of old master paintings, and most recently, figures in landscapes. During her time at the Charles H. Cecil Studio, she also taught portrait painting and drawing to beginner and advanced art students. Her primary focus is figurative painting. In May 2007, she was a national finalist for the American Artist Magazine Cover competition, and her painting “Jane” was published nationally. In September, 2010, she was published in SouthWest Art Magazine as one of “Top 21 Artists Under 31 Years Old to Collect Now”. Recently, she was awarded a MakeWork Project Grant from CreateHere, Chattanooga. Her project, “The Faces of Chattanooga” will explore the social diversity within the city through the eyes of a portrait painter. Mia’s hope is to use her artistic abilities to help promote social change.
Mia Bergeron
Education:
Charles H. Cecil Studio, Florence, Italy, 2002-2005
Harvard Extension School, 2001
Rhode Island School of Design, 1998-1999
Residence:
Chattanooga, TN
Solo Exhibitions:
Offerings, online mini-solo, Gallery 1261 July 2020
Outside In , Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2019
Shared Solitude, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO November 2016
Gradual Thaw, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2013
Group Exhibitions:
- Red Ribbon, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2020
- Object, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2019
- Small Works, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO 2019
- Ways of Seeing: Hollis Dunlap, Mia Bergeron, Zoey Frank, Gallery 1261, Denver CO 2018
- Heat/Wave, noh_Wave Los Angeles, CA 2018
- Contemporary Realism, Gallery 1261 Denver, CO 2018
- Still Life Invitational, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2018
- Spring Collection, Vanessa Rothe Fine Art ( Salmagundi Club), NYC, NY 2018
- Realism without Borders, Vanessa Rothe Fine Art , Laguna Beach, CA 2017
- In Earnest: Women Painting Women, Customs House Museum, Clarksville, TN 2017
- Small Works, AFA Gallery, New York City, NY 2017
- American Masters Exhibit, Salmagundi Club, New York City, NY 2017
- Small Works, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA 2017
- Artist for the New Century Invitational, The Bennington , Bennington VT 2017
- Uplift and Upheaval, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2017
- Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Vendue Hotel, Charleston, SC 2016
- 12×12, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2016
- Large Works, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO 2016
- 3 Woman show, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA 2016
- _lo_la Group Exhibit, Dream factory, Los Angeles, CA 2016
- Group Exhibit, Gallery 1261 Denver, CO 2015
- Silver vs. Gold, Vendue Hotel, Charleston SC 2016
- Juried Exhibit, Sirona Fine Art, Hallendale Beach, FL 2015
- Space in Between, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA 2104
- Vanishing Boundaries, Robert Lange Studios, 2014
- Pay It Forward, Principle Gallery, Alexandria VA 2014
- Group show, Gallery 1261, Denver, CO 2014
- Women Painting Women: (R)evolution, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA 2013
- Still Life Invitational, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA 2013
- Evolution, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2013
- Nuance: Three Women Show, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2013
- Spectrum, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN 2012
- Everything Changes, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2012
- Women Painting Women: On Expedition, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA 2012
- Fortunate, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2011
- What We Choose, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2011
- Women Painting Women, Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC 2010
- Group Exhibition, Gallery 1401, Chattanooga, TN 2009
- Mainx24, CreateHere, Chattanooga, TN 2008
- Two Woman Show, Predicate Gallery, Atlanta, GA 2006
- Group Exhibition, Villa Mirabello, Florence, Italy 2005
- Foot-In-The-Door, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN 2001
Awards and Publications:
- Select 50, Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition, 2018
- 10 Best Contemporary Portrait Artists, One Fine Bid, 2016
- American Art Collector Magazine, November 2016
- Fine Art Connoisseur, November 2016
- American Art Collector Magazine, April, 2015
- Certificate of Excellence, Portrait Society of America International Competition 2015
- American Art Collector Magazine, September, November 2014
- Arts and Galleries of the SouthEast,September 2014
- Fine Arts Connoisseur, April, September 2014
- International Artist Magazine, 8 page article, December/January 2014
- 2nd Place, SouthWest Art Magazine Artistic Excellence Competition, December 2013
- American Art Collector Magazine, June, July, August, September 2013
- Fine Arts Connoisseur, September 2013
- Artists and Galleries of The South, September 2013
- Art Charleston, July 2013
- Charleston City Paper, July 2013
- Fine Arts Connoisseur, July 2013
- Certificate of Excellence, Portrait Society of America International Competition 2013
- American Art Collector Magazine, October, November 2013
- Charleston City Paper, November 2013
- 21 Artists Under 31 to Collect Now, SouthWest Art Magazine, September 2010
- Recipient of MakeWork Grant, CreateHere, Chattanooga, TN 2008
- Cover Competition Finalist, American Artist Magazine, September 2006
- Chattanoogan Magazine, Chattanooga, TN 2006
Gallery Representation:
- Robert Lange Studios, Charleston, SC
- Gallery 1261, Denver, CO
Teaching:
- Private Workshops, Townsend Atelier, Chattanooga, TN (2010-present)
- Adjunct Professor of Painting, University Of Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN 2009-2010
- Assistant Teacher, Charles H. Cecil Studio, Florence, Italy 2003-2005
Languages:
Speak fluent French and conversational Italian.
In her expressive, photorealistic portraits, Mia Bergeron combines classical figuration with an idiosyncratic and gestural approach to the surface. Grounded in careful observation and draughtsmanship, her work tests the boundaries between abstraction and representation, seeking the moment just before a figure dissolves into its ground. Bergeron, who often represents the female form, says: “I find that portraying women feels as if I am holding a mirror to myself, painting my own gender as subject matter.” This preference lends her work an autobiographical quality, which is enhanced by the ambiguity of her gestures: the abstract smears, brushstrokes, and subtle disintegration of the figure suggest the merging of painter and sitter.
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
Mia Bergeron Painting
