BIO

Pirjo Berg was born in Helsinki, Finland. In 2000, she received her BFA from the School of Art and Media, Tampere, Finland. The same year she established her studio practice in Seattle, WA. In 2005 she graduated from the Artists Trust EDGE-Program. She now lives in Grand Forks, ND.

Berg career highlights include solo exhibitions: Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, WA; Third Street Gallery, Grand Forks, ND; Gallery 63Eleven, Seattle, WA; Gallery Jangva, Helsinki, Finland; Mercer Gallery, Rochester, NY; and a 3 person show at the Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, WA. Juried shows include: Main Street Gallery, Clifton Springs, NY; Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; Paint Local, North Dakota Museum of Art; Art on the Plains XI, Plains Art Museum, and many more. She has been invited to be part of the Midwestern Fine Art Show, Rourke Art Museum, Moorhead, MN.

Notable residencies include: Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT; North Dakota Museum Of Art/Rural Arts Initiative, McCanna House, Grand Forks, ND; Willapa Bay AIR, Oysterville, WA; Tampere Artists Association, Berlin, Germany; The Finnish Artist’s Studio Foundation, Marbella, Spain; and Serlachius Museums, Mänttä, Finland. Grants include CARES Act Fund Individual Artist Fellowship, and Professional Development Grant, North Dakota Council on Arts; and a Travel Grant, from the Artists’ Association of Finland.

Berg has been in the curatorial teams of the Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, WA; UpFront Gallery, Issaquah, WA; and Willapa Bay AiR, WA. 2021 she was a judge at Pekin Day Art Show, Pekin,ND.

Education

2000 BFA in painting, School of Art and Media, Tampere, Finland

1991 MA in regional planning, University of Tampere, Finland Membership

2005 EDGE Professional Development Program for Visual Artists, Artist Trust, Seattle, WA

Grants & Residencies

2021 Grant: NDCA ARP Fund, North Dakota Council on the Arts, ND

2020 Grant: NDCA CARES Act Fund, North Dakota Council on the Arts, ND

2018 Individual Artist Fellowship Grant: North Dakota Council on the Art, ND

2015 Residency: Mänttä, Finland, Serlachius Museums and Mänttä Art Festival Travel Grant: Finnish Artists’ Association, Finland

Residency: Marbella, Spain organized by The Finnish Artists' Studio Foundation

2014 Residency: Berlin, Germany organized by Tampere Artists’ Association, Finland

Professional Development Grant: North Dakota Council on the Art Residency:

Willapa Bay AiR, Oysterville, Washington

2013 Residency: McCanna House, organized by North Dakota Museum of Art, ND

Residency: Vermont Studio Centre, Johnson, Vermont

1999 Grant: School of Art and Media, Tampere, Finland (trip and documentation Nepal)

1997 Grant: School of Art and Media, Tampere, Finland, documenting public art in Seattle

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2022 New Work Unless It Isn’t, ArtWise Gallery & Creation Space, Grand Forks, ND (Three-person exhibition)

2018 Blue Wind, Mercer Gallery, Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY

2014 Core, Third Street Gallery, Grand Forks, ND

2013 New Paintings, HoDo, Hotel Donaldson, Fargo, ND

2010 Siirtymiä Sielunmaisemassa, Vanhan Raatihuoneen Galleria, Turku, Finland (Two-person exhibition)

2010 Governor’s Office, Bismarck, ND

2011 Blue Wind, Third Street Gallery, Grand Forks, ND

2008 New Works, Gallery 63Eleven, Seattle, WA

2007 You, I and Fairy Tale – Sä, Mä ja Satu, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, WA (Three-person exhibition)

2004 From Northern Climes: Contemporary Finnish-American Art, Karpeles Museum, Tacoma, WA (Two-person exhibition)

2003 One Broken Picture – Eräs Hajanainen Kuva, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, WA

2002 Maalia ja matonkuteita, Gallery Jangva, Helsinki, Finland

Selected Group Exhibitions

2022 MARK, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio (upcoming)

2021 Small Works 2021, Main Street Gallery, Clifton Springs, NY. (Juror: Rick Muto, director of Axom Gallery in Rochester, NY)

Autumn Artistry, 77th Annual Fall Show, Bismarck Art $ Galleries Association, Bismarck, ND. (Elsa Forde Gallery Selection, Bismarck State College and Honorable Mention Awards. Juror: Paul Noot.)

Abstract Only! 11th Annual Multimedia National Juried Competition, Wailoa Center, Hilo, HI.

Magnitude Seven, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio

On the Biographical Impulse, 62nd Midwestern Invitational, Rourke Art Museum, Moorhead, MN

2020 Small Works 2020, Main Street Gallery, Clifton Springs, NY. (Juror: Tiffany Gaines, Curatorial and Digital Content Associate at the Burchfield Penney Art Centre, Buffalo, NY)

American All Media 2020, Northwest Art Centre, Minot State University, Minot, ND. (Juror: Guillermo Guardia, St. Paul, MN)

Magnitude Seven, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio

In Your Own Skin, 61st Midwestern Invitational, Rourke Art Museum, Moorhead, MN

2019 Her Votes Count, UND Art Collections Gallery at the Empire, Grand Forks, ND (Juror: Nelda Schrupp)

Autumn Artistry, Invitational, Bismarck Art & Galleries Association, Bismarck, ND

Americas All Media 2019, Northwest Art Center, Minot State University, Minot, ND (Juror: Sally Jeppson)

Magnitude Seven, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Zeitgeist, the 60th Midwestern Invitational, Rourke Art Museum, Moorhead, MN

One Shot, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio

2018 Small Works 2018, Main Street Gallery, Clifton Springs, NY (Honorable Mention Award Juror: Rick Pirozzolo, executive director and curator at the ArnotArt Museum, Elmira,NY))

Magnitude Seven, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Land and Sea, Main Street Gallery, Clifton Springs, NY (Juror’s Choice Award, Juror: Deirdre Aureden, director of programs and special projects, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn,NY)

Camelot, the 59th Midwestern Invitational, Rourke Art Museum, Moorhead, MN (3rd Place Award)

Look Both Ways, Ecce Gallery, Fargo, ND

2017 Small Works 2017, Main Street Galley, Clifton Springs, NY

Fresh Paint 2017, 3rd Biennial Painting Exhibition, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Ecce- Gallery East, Park Rapids, MN

Magnitude Seven, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Annual National Juried Watermedia Exhibition, Red River Watercolor Society, Hjemkomst Center, Moorhead, Minnesota (Juror: Andy Evansen)

2014 It’s All about Light, Corridor Gallery, Seattle, Washington (Curator: Dayton Knipher, Guest Curators: Akiko Masker and Cathy Fields)

2012 Art on the Plains XI, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, North Dakota (Juror: Hesse McGraw, Bemis Center for contemporary Arts, Omaha, Nebraska)

2010 Annual Art Auction, Third Street Gallery, Grand Forks, North Dakota (2011, 2012)

2009 Paint Local, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND (Curator: Laurel Reuter, Director of North Dakota Museum of Art)

Annual Art Auction, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND (2010-2014, 2016-18)

Touring Exhibition, North Dakota Museum of Art, ND

2008 Nordic Artists, North Seattle Community College, Seattle, Washington

Over The Edge, Artists + one from the Artist Trust Program, UpFront[art], Issaquah, WA

2007 East Meets West: Artists from Building C, BallardWorks, Seattle, WA

Convergence, UpFront[art], Issaquah, WA

Artists from Building C, Gallery 63Eleven, Seattle, WA

2006 North West Fine Arts Competition, Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Phinney Center Gallery Seattle, WA

Annual Juried Fine Art Competition, Kent, WA (Juror: Mary Iverson)

2005 4th Annual Recycled Art Show, invitational, New York Fashion Academy’s Gallery, Seattle, WA

Nordic Artists Northwest, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, WA

Finlandia Music and Art Festival, Northwest College of Art, Poulsbo, WA

2004 Stay in the Tunnel. The Artists of Building C, Gallery 63 Eleven, Seattle, WA

Expressions Northwest, 6th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, The Jeffersons Arts Alliance and Port Townsend Arts CommissionsPort Townsend, WA (Merit Award, Juror: Jake Seniuk, director Port Angeles Fine Art Center)

3rd Annual Recycled Art Show”, Seattle, WA

Lopputyot, Tampereen taiteen ja viestinnän oppilaitos, Art Center Vapriikki,

Tampere, Finland

Rive Noire, Finnish Institute, Paris, France (Curator: Vesa Varrela, Director of Tampere School of Art and Media)

Lieber Finnland, Finnish Institute, Berlin, Germany (Curator: Vesa Varrela, Director of Tampere School of Art and Media)

Women in the Arts, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Matkalippu, Vanhan kirjastotalon Emil-sali, Tampere, Finland

1998 Women’s Cultural Days, Gallery Nykyaika, Tampere, Finland

Suomen itsenäisyyden 80-vuotis juhla, Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland (installation)

Kuvassa ja kuvan takana, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

Selected Bibliography:

AEQAI.com. Does Size Matter? Magnitude Seven: 15th Annual exhibition of Small Works” at Manifest Gallery, May 31-June 28, 2019. Jonathan Kamholtz
INPA 8, Manifest International Painting Annual, Manifest Press, 2018
Land & Sea, A National juried exhibition of landscapes and seascapes, Exhibition Catalog, Main Street Arts, 2018
North Dakota Museum of Art Auction Catalogue 2009-14, 2016-18
Plains Art Museum Spring Gala Catalogue 2012-15, 2018-19
Under The Dakota Sky, an exhibition Celebrating 125 Years of Statehood Catalogue, 2014

- Gary Faigin, Art Review “Pirjo Berg: New Works at Gallery 6311 in Ballard”, April 17th, 2008,KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, Sound Focus, 94.9 MHz, NPR

- Issaquah Press, “ArtEAST hosts Ballard artists”, July 4th, 2007,

- Tessa Papas (compiled), “Maximalism, Art at the Hotel Max, Seattle”, Chetwynd

Stapylton, Portland, Oregon, 2005

Selected Public Collections:

- Jasper Hotel, Fargo, North Dakota

- North Dakota Council on the Arts, Bismarck, North Dakota

- Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York

- Sunshine Hospitality Home, Altru Health System, Grand Forks, North Dakota

- University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota

- North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota

- Valley Medical Center, Renton, Washington

- Sacred Heart Medical Centre, Springfield, Oregon

- Max-Hotel, Seattle, Washington

- Labor Museum, Tampere, Finland

Selected Commissions:

- Max-Hotel, Seattle, Washington, 2004-05

- NBBJ, for Valley Medical Center, Renton, Washington, 2006-07

- Sacred Heart Medical Centre, Springfield, Oregon, 2007

Juried Professional Memberships:

- Full member of Finnish Painters Union. Finland

- Studio member at Muddy Waters Clay Center, Grand Forks, ND

Selected Related Experience:

- Working as an assistant to a director at nonprofit organization ArtWise 2014 to

present

- Judge: Pekin Art Show, Pekin, ND 2021; Host Fest Minot, ND 2019

- Children’s Art Camp, North Dakota Museum of Art, 2018, 2019

- Teaching: painting and drawing, and North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks. Evening classes. 2011-13

- Curated” Convergence – Ballard Building C Artists” -invitational exhibition at UpFront[art], Issaquah, Washington (with Diane Culhane, Deby Harvey and June Sekiguchi), 2007

- Curated” Nordic Artists Northwest” -invitational exhibition at Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, Washington (with Marianne Forsblad, Eva Isaksen and Joan Stuart Ross), 2005

-Teaching: painting and drawing, at Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, 2004-2006

-Lecture: "Public Art in Seattle and Helsinki", at Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, 2002

-Lecture: “Public Art in Seattle”, at the School of Art and Media, Tampere, Finland, 1997

artbypirjoberg@gmail.com