Tag Archives: Art

Past Events

Finissage + Concert With Artist Gwen Kerber


Artist Gwendolyn Kerber (Yale MFA ’84) invites the Ivy Circle to the finissage of her art exhibit “Ice Melts To Water,” taking place Sunday, March 22 from 2pm-5pm at the HELL gallery at Spittastr. 2, 10317 Berlin.  The gallery is owned and run by another Yale School of Art graduate, Alexis Knowlton.  There will be a musical performance by the British improvising trio “arc:3” at 3pm.  Simple refreshments will be served.

Kerber will provide a tour of her works and be available for any questions.

From gallery owner Alexis Knowlton:  In Gwendolyn Kerber’s exhibition, a purple painting, a fragile structure of sticks, and erased drawings of water ripples are resolved at various states of finish. The works depend on each other as much as on natural observation for their creation. The touch of the painter emerges in details that shimmer between information and idiosyncrasy.

The intention of Kerber´s work across several years has been to convey the experience of standing in a clear shallow lake, sunlight creating patterns on the sandy bottom. Water plants moving slowly, catching light. Her solo exhibition at HELL, to which you are invited, shifts attention to the work´s conceptual aspects.

Kerber is a painter who has developed a skill-vocabulary rather than a style or genre. Her working process moves between careful observations of visual phenomena, both on-site and in the studio, and welcoming the unexpected: the physical unruliness of such earnest attempts.

More on Gwendolyn Kerher: Gwendolynkerber.com.
More on Gallery HELL: http://galeriehell.com/

arc:3 Trio are:
Jessica Thomas
Violinist working across baroque repertoire, historically informed performance, and modern projects

Katya Sourikova
Pianist and composer working across modern jazz, art-pop, film, interdisciplinary events and gallery performances

Michael Avery
Bassist and producer working between art-pop and jazz

Performing in close proximity to the paintings, arc:3 will create spontaneous sonic reflections of several works from the exhibition.

Carl Kruse |

Through shifting textures, resonance and gesture, the music will respond to Kerber’s visual language of color, light and form, while suggesting the emotional and narrative associations the images evoke.

We look forward to welcoming everyone to the finissage of the exhibit on March 22!

Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin
Berlin Chair, Princeton Alumni Association of Germany

Past Events Berlin

Third Art Brunch With Helena Kauppila and Open Studios Tour

by Carl Kruse

The Ivy Circle Berlin would like to invite all to its third Art Brunch at the studio of Helena Kauppila, on Sunday, October 5, 2025, starting at 11:45 am on the fourth floor of Ackerstrasse 81, 13355 Berlin.

There will be a welcome drink, some finger foods, and a brief introduction by the artist at 12:15 pm. 

A mathematician turned painter, Helena is fascinated by complexity and emerging systems. While her colorful paintings may appear random and disjointed, there is a systems thinking behind them, often anchored in mathematics. Her work touches on the structure of DNA, mathematical theories, and the human connection to nature and the world around us.

Helena is excited to share new work from her Complex Systems series, along with a sneak preview of a collaboration with TU Berlin. 

Helena writes, “The Complex Systems series is the thread running through all of my work. It grew out of a desire to bring together color, science, and lived experience to explore how individuals connect to larger systems. My background in mathematics introduced me to complex systems — phenomena where simple parts combine to create something entirely new. Think of neurons firing to create conscious thought, or the dynamics of an ecosystem: each element plays a role, yet together they form something far greater than themselves.

This idea of emergence fascinates me. It resonates not only with the scientific ideas I encountered in my research, but also with my own personal journey of moving between countries, adapting to new cultures, and finding belonging within a whole.

In my paintings, I use simple elements that, when combined, generate complex color spaces. These forms resist traditional figure–ground relationships; instead, they evoke the statistical properties of a scene — suggesting a world where meaning emerges from patterns rather than from hierarchy.”

Kauppila resides in Berlin. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Columbia University and is the recipient of the Reginald Marsh and Felicia Meyer Marsh scholarship at the Art Students League of New York. 

RSVP helpful (but not required).

At 1 pm other ateliers in the building open as well, so there will be further opportunity to explore other art and meet other artists.

For any questions please contact Helena directly at helena@helenakauppila.com.

I look forward to seeing everyone on October 5!

Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin

We have done several events with Helena Kauppila in the past including a Double Art Event, the Miettenin Collection, and the Second Art Brunch in Berlin.