Hello, I´m Mirjam, phonetically [MIRR] + [EE] + [UHM].
I am a Norwegian artist living in Los Angeles with my husband, renowned special effects makeup artist Howard Berger, since 2011.
I was born on July 21, 1980 in Bergen, Norway and grew up in my parents' frame shop in Norheimsund by the Hardangerfjord in West Norway, also known as Vestland.
My current focus is on an ongoing series I call "Dreamscapes," which I began in 2019. In the past 10 years, I have explored different techniques and ideas to bring my previous paintings to a new level and create a sense of progression within them.
I don't particularly like titles for my artwork as I feel they are often imposed by someone else rather than chosen by the artist. However, for now, I am giving my paintings a number and a collective title.
What is a "Dreamscape"? To me, it is like unexpected memories that suddenly resurface and we realize we had forgotten about them. It's also about familiar shapes and colors that seem just out of reach. I am constantly exploring the complexity and personality of colors, especially when they are juxtaposed in unique shapes and arrangements.
Similarly, "Familiar Shapes" is another concept I explore when arranging shapes in my work. This series has a more graphic feel with solid opaque colors meeting in sharp and clean shapes.
I find inspiration in abstract sculpture and am fascinated by the cognitive aspects of human perception.
Our minds have an incredible ability to identify shapes based on our stored visual impressions. And our brains always seem to seek out recognizable shapes.
Psychologist and psychoanalyst Alice Miller once made an observation about famous sculptor Henry Moore in her book "The Drama of the Gifted Child" (1979), based on reading the artist`s memoir.
In his memoirs the artist describes how he as a small boy massaged his mother´s back with oil to help soothe her rheumatism.
Alice Miller writes; "the Great reclining women with the tiny heads - I could now see them in the mother through the small boy's eyes, with the head high above, in diminishing perspective, and the back close before him and enormously enlarged."
This perfectly illustrates the connection between cognitive processes of perception and memory, and an artist's visual expression.
Mirjam, May, 2024
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
2000-2003:
Visuell kommunikasjon ved Kunsthøyskolen i Bergen (KHiB). (Bergen Academy of Art and Design)
2002/ 03:
Fordjupning i grafiske trykketeknikkar ved Accademia di Belle Arti, Bologna, Italia.
2003-2004:
Årsstudium, Kunsthistorie ved Universitetet i Bergen (University of Bergen).
2004-2005:
SPFX/ Spesialeffektutdanning ved Nordisk Institutt for Scene og Studio i Oslo.