Terry Berlier: Erased Loop Random Walk

In this large-scale solo exhibition of new kinetic sculptures and sound installations, Berlier continues her investigations and subtly humorous interpretations of recording time.

The seemingly nonsensical title of this exhibition is actually taken from the term “loop- erased random walk,” a mathematical theory that Terry Berlier does not claim to know anything about. However, she likes the words and the abstractness of the phrase – a phrase that evolved from an exercise she gave to her Kinetic Sculpture class at Stanford when she asked the students to come up with three words that suggested movement.

Terry Berlier’s work is rooted in experimentation, risk taking, and problem solving. From the inception of ideas to the completed installation of her sculptures, Berlier is committed to providing a full sensory experience for the gallery visitor – much like the way we experience life. Many of the works incorporate kinetic features and sound elements and some require participation and collaboration from the audience. A combi- nation of low-end tinkering and high-end technologies are utilized in the creation of the sculptures and her work is often composed of an amalgamation of parts that are found, repurposed, fabricated, crafted, and/or purchased. In the end, the sculptures are charac- terized by meticulous craftsmanship, thoughtful observation, incisive social critique and subtle humor.

Multiple influences determine the subject matter of Berlier’s work: historical, social, cultural and environmental. She has done field research at the Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona and the Recology Waste Center in San Francisco. She has explored the architecture of nuclear storage facilities and the material waste that resulted from the housing market boom and its subsequent bust. She has also investi- gated how the recording of time and the evolution of history mediate our understanding of ingenuity and progress. As a result of these investigations, Berlier’s sculptures offer humorous and thought-provoking metaphors for our ongoing relationship with the natural world and the consequences of our industrial and technological interventions in the future.

Terry Berlier has been included in numerous exhibitions both nationally and interna- tionally including the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, the Richard L. Nelson Gallery at University of California, Davis, the Center for Contemporary Art in Sacramento, Natural Balance in Girona, Spain and FemArt Mostra D’Art De Dones in Barcelona, Spain. Her work is included in several collections including the Progressive Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, and Bildwechsel Archive in Berlin, Germany. She has received numerous residencies and grants including the Zellerbach Foundation, Arts Council Silicon Valley, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research Fellow at Stanford University, Recology San Francisco, Hungarian Multicultural Center in Budapest, the Exploratorium in San Francisco, among many others. Berlier received an MFA in Studio Art from UC Davis and a BFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Stanford University.