Jake Vanden Berge: I Made My Bed Of Flowers And Now I Have To Step In It

The show features an interactive sound piece and six works on canvas, combining oil and inkjet on multiple canvas panels, juxtaposing surrealist elements and 19th-century art historical references with a distinct modern reinterpretation of historical romanticism. In working with panels, the artist is able to select images working in tension with each other, building a layered narrative, resisting easy interpretation. For Vanden Berge, it’s less about telling a clear story and more about unsettling the viewer, encouraging them to pause and rethink what they’re seeing.

Drawing inspiration from the suburban environment of his Whittier, California, upbringing, Vanden Berge’s oil paintings use colour and composition to blur the line between the tangible and the imagined. Initially influenced by comic art, Vanden Berge evolved his approach from early sketches to layered works that evoke the feeling of a fleeting dream. The familiar face the surreal—a woman’s lips, fields of tulips, or fragmented faces—inviting viewers into intimate, reflective moments where beauty and impermanence coexist.

Among the featured pieces in this exhibition is Nymph and Satyr, 1828, which references the 19th-century painting of the same name by William Etty. Vanden Berge’s interpretation pays homage to Etty’s original while introducing his own distinctive modern perspective. By placing feminine imagery alongside vibrant, fragmented floral landscapes, the piece echoes themes of allure and ephemerality, inviting viewers to explore the contrast between historical romanticism and contemporary perception.

Vanden Berge’s works distil the quiet beauty of everyday moments, challenging viewers to reflect on the fragility of memory and the unique resonance of personal history. Each painting in I Made My Bed of Flowers And Now I Have to Step In It captures a delicate balance between nostalgia and the surreal, offering a window into the artist’s deeply cinematic world.