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Bing Cherries
oil on paper, 20 x 26", 2000

"These paintings ask to be considered in the context of American art. Most obviously they relate to that American realist tendency found in Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and Fairfield Porter; above all, the flat, hard and clear outdoor light that is almost knife-like and makes the work tight, crisp, cool, and spacious. Like her predecessors, Berman understands the distinction between a propensity for high-style illustration on the one hand, and instinctive response to paint's material substance on the other. Significantly, Berman exposes a direct correspondence between palpable humanity and the tactility of paint." --Susie Kalil, catalog essay for "Ellen Berman: Recent Paintings," Art Museum of Southeast Texas, 1989.