Art Militant: Patrick Berran’s "Burn Blue" Marks a Bold and Courageous Return

Patrick Berran returns to Richmond’s Arts District with a new chapter of work “Burn Blue”, featuring immensely scaled, layered canvases that balance precision and spontaneity. At the Foyer Gallery, his new work invites viewers into energetic palettes and multi-layered textured surfaces that jolt alive with mark-making and gesture. Shifting between structure and openness, Patrick uses shapes that carry an energy both carefully built and urgently expressed. The collection can easily be seen as his boldest work in nearly a decade with monumental paintings infused with fresh color and dynamic range speaking to a renewed buoyancy and creative ardor.

While Burn Blue showcases a rich celebration of form, structure and color, its true power lies in the work’s ability to bear witness to an artist’s personal journey. Through dense layers of collage, Berran reveals not only the narrative of modern painting, but also an emotional ledger of resilience and renewal. This artistic milestone is accompanied by a deeply personal chapter: Berran, recently discharged, had been undergoing treatment at VCU Massey Cancer Center during the preparation and opening of the exhibition. His courage in the face of this adversity brings an added dimension to Burn Blue – one that transcends aesthetic to communicate resolve, creative perseverance and life-affirming expression through fine art.

What stands out to me is Berran’s approach to materiality and rhythm. His surfaces don’t settle into a single reading or idea but they reveal themselves slowly through shifts in texture, color and repetition. Areas of balance give way to grand interruptions while familiar patterns dissolve into unexpected realities. Witnessing the tension that forms in this marriage, I sense an artist probing about what painting can still do and how it can record time, gesture and thought together without flattening them out. Through technique and curiosity, the exhibition reads less as a static display and more as a conversation between forms in motion through a series that captures discipline and improvisation with poise.

A glance at Berran’s distinguished career shows a sustained commitment to excellence and innovation. After his BFA at VCUarts in printmaking and painting, Berran moved on to receive his Masters in painting at Hunter College, immediately establishing himself in the art world, to now having exhibited nationally and internationally in solo exhibitions in Chicago, NYC, London, Los Angeles even and Oslo with notable group exhibition appearances at the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Hall Art Foundation, both in 2021 – an accomplishment that speaks to his broad reach and evolving artistic dialogue.

I sat down with Berran to talk about his return to Richmond, the making of Burn Blue, and what’s next.

You’re resting from the last thirty days of your personal life knowing you have a return exhibition in your Alma-mater’s city. The show’s up, you’ve reached a new level in your recovery — take a deep breath. How do ya feel?

Physically, my body is weak from treatment. Mentally and emotionally, I’m on cloud 9, I feel great. It was very strange to be confined to a hospital room while my opening was happening. But, I’m very proud of this body of work and couldn’t be happier with how it came together. Visually from piece to piece, but also how it operates within Foyer’s architecture of their space. The plants, the windows, the second floor mezzanine, I really enjoy their space.

I don’t know how much you’ve seen around these parts but Richmond isn’t the same place as 2002. If you've gotten a chance to adventure at all, what would you say is the biggest difference between now and freshman at VCUarts?

Oh, I’ve been back often. In 2002, I graduated from VCU and I left for grad school in NYC, but came back prob 2, 3 times a year. I have a huge friend base in Richmond and those relationships are very important for me to nurture over the years, some of my favorite people are here. Richmond has exploded in so many ways since then. I would say the amount of neighborhoods I now know is much different. Back then, I traversed Richmond through skateboarding, biking or going to house shows..and more often than not, It was all in the Fan, Downtown and Oregon hill. Now, I have friends spread out. I enjoy exploring and seeing new areas, new hiking trails, etc. – Richmond is such a beautiful city. I did the same in NYC. Always trying to explore new areas I had never been, maybe it's the same attitude or way of thinking?

Observing your work takes me on a mental journey. I get a very kaleidoscope-like thought pattern trying to follow and place different center points and forms in your work. The energy is very fluid to me – how would you compare your language in abstraction to your own personal experience as a human?

I love your description and its spot on. I find that it's really a privilege to have people look at your work. I never take that for granted. I want it to be a journey worth investigating. I want color and space to move and slide in the very manner you described. In my personal life, I am constantly trying to find new ways to enjoy and experience life. I find it is vital as you age, to continue exploration and being curious of your surroundings. For mental health, but also just to be in a positive state, to enjoy life. Even somewhere you’ve lived for “x” amount of years, to find a different area to explore. To walk the wrong way down a street sometimes.

With that being said, I like observing life, whether it's on a hike or bike ride, looking at tiles on a building, plants, landscapes. In these instances you can find textures, colors, lines all worth looking at, in turn seeing your life and surroundings in new ways.

Where from here? Art related answer…or not

To recover and build on my health is the main priority. I paint every day in my studio. Not being able to be in my studio for the next couple months as I recover will be a little strange but I have loads of drawing materials and works on paper to help facilitate a studio atmosphere.