Berta Santos-Pinet
Artist Biography
Berta was born in Barcelona to a family of artists. As the granddaughter of Enric Pinet, an important Catalan Post-Impressionist painter, she was immersed at an early age in the history and techniques of art in her native Spain.
Her work has been featured in Europe in a number of exhibitions in both private and public collections.
The use of marbled and paste patterned papers originates, in part from the bookbinding trades of 17th Century Europe. Inspired by her predecessors, her work has expanded upon the ancient and traditional techniques in an attempt to continue the evolution of the craft. The result is an individual and unique work of art that stands alone as an aesthetic statement.
Process
For Marbled papers, paints are suspended on a thickened liquid which has been prepared with Carrageenan (an extract of a type of Irish moss). The paints are manipulated by means of various tools and combs to create the desired patterns. Once the design has been formed, the specially prepared paper is gently lowered onto the floating paints allowing the patterns to be transferred to the paper.
For the Paste-papers, a mixture of flour, water and pigment is prepared and painted over dampened paper. This solution is then manipulated by tools and objects to create patterns and designs on the paper.
Berta's work was highlighted in our Fall 2018 Group Exhibition, September - November, 2018.
