"Lifecycle" by Richard Berent
Metel Sculpture

Holly Springs Artist Awarded Honorable Mention in Cary
 
Richard G. Berent built hundreds of homes for families in Cary, Raleigh and Wake County from 1979 to 2000. Then a brain tumor changed his life. Recovering from surgery to remove a benign tumor the size of a baseball, he was unable to continue his career. So he decided to pursue his life-long curiosity about welding. He attended both Wake Tech and Central Carolina Community College taking courses in welding, then turned his mind toward art. He took art classes at CCCC, developed his own techniques and began entering local juried shows. His success was immediate.

His first recognition included being juried into shows of the NC Community College Administration in downtown Raleigh in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, internationally renowned artist Barkley Hendricks juried Berent’s work into the Durham Arts Guild 53rd annual juried show. That same year, Berent was juried into the 2007 Fine Arts League of Cary’s 14th Annual Juried Show by juror Gina Cavallo Collins of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art.

Most impressive is Berent’s recent achievement, an Honorable Mention for his sculpture “Lifecycle” in this year's Fine Arts League of Cary’s 15th Annual Juried Show.  The juror, F. Lennox Campello, is a widely published Washington DC and Philadelphia based art critic, award-winning artist, and prominent curator. He can be heard on NPR and Voice of America radio as well as television reporting on Mid-Atlantic art news on ArtsMedia News. His work has been exhibited in museums, collections, and galleries around the world.

Mr. Campello posted notes regarding Berent’s sculpture in his blog post on his flight home “…there are always pleasant and enriching surprises where one least expects them. Such as finding a particularly unique piece of sculpture in a show where it is alone amongst its brethren, a seminal piece which tempted me into considering awarding it a Best in Show but ended with a lesser Honorable Mention because I think that the artist has a lot more to explore in order to push the concept behind the work. He needs to enter the world of electricity and lights …”

Berent works primarily with aluminum and says, “I particularly enjoy aluminum in spite of special properties that make it difficult to work with. I love its weight and malleability, its versatility for highly polished or textured finishes. Perhaps I simply enjoy the challenge.”

Berent has an extensive studio behind his home in the country just south of Holly Springs. He spends long days creating his large aluminum wall sculptures. He is currently developing a new technique to add lighting to his pieces.

He is very excited about his acceptance by the art community. He feels he has found a new calling and a unique voice in his art. Says Berent, “You never know what direction your life might take by seriously following your curiosity. You might find a whole new aspect of yourself, You might find a whole new life.”

Berent’s “Lifecycle” and the entire FALC juried show can be viewed at Hope Community Church, 821 Buck Jones Road, Raleigh NC 27606, through June 27th, 2009, Monday through Friday 9 am to 8 pm, Saturday 9 am to 2 pm, 919-532-0620.