BERNARDICA T SCULAC STERN

ARTIST BIO

After three decades, Bernardica T Sculac Stern has finally declared: "I am an artist."

A child of immigrants, Bernardica was raised by loving parents who instilled a deep appreciation for both cultural heritage and a chosen home. In addition to being an artist, she is a devoted spouse, a dedicated research professional, and an avid gardener. These diverse roles and experiences have shaped Bernardica's identity, continuously influencing her artistic journey.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, she found solace and inspiration in the halls of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, visiting every Friday night after work. Immersing herself in the museum’s collections provided both rest and rejuvenation, which naturally influenced her artistic style. Bernardica's work reflects a blend of influences from beloved artists, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Alma Thomas, Hilma af Klint, Georges Seurat, Maximilien Luce, Vincent van Gogh, and Gustav Klimt. A transformative trip to Croatia in 2018 also introduced her to the works of Croatian painter Jozo Kljaković and sculptor Ivan Meštrović, whose art continues to inspire her.

Like many artists, Bernardica experiences emotions deeply, with a profound sensitivity to people and the natural world. Whether capturing landscapes or florals, her work seeks to translate these emotions into visual form. At its core, Bernardica's artistic practice is driven by a twofold mission: to create beauty and to bring joy to the viewer—principles that have guided her throughout her artistic life.


ARTIST STATEMENT

As for my artistic outlook, I enjoy beauty all around me. I choose to LOOK for beauty everywhere: it could be flowers, or the play of light in a cityscape, or the myriad of colors of a crashing ocean wave. When I create art, I am trying to express how and why something is beautiful to me.
Most of my work has been representational rather than abstract. However recently I started exploring how I can weave my visual art with my other artistic pursuit: music. I've been performing as a mezzo soprano singer for 25 years, and recently started to depict how a particular piece of music makes me feel.
As such my newest focus is to create paintings about music. I have as inspiration, composer Modest Mussorgsky's orchestral work "Pictures at an Exhibition" depicting his experience of walking through a gallery. I'm working in the other direction--music interpreted as paintings. I know this is not a new idea. But trying to depict what I feel when I hear musical favorites and sharing that vision is new for me. My hope is to create an emotional experience for the viewer: I hope they like my paintings on their own; but I also hope they listen to the music that inspired the paintings. I think all of us would benefit from more art and music. To date, I have completed five, with a goal of completing ten.