Confession and Mercy Suite
John Bergmeier
John Bergmeier, Confession and Mercy Suite: In a Jar (L), Section A (C), Skating (R), 2020, Monotype, 8 x 7 inches.
John Bergmeier’s suite of medallions explore two key dualities within the completeness of time: essential living vs inevitable death and the mysterious union between the physical and the spiritual. Bergmeier uses a central divide in each medallion to confront the viewer with these dualities.
Elements of the living and physical world are expressed as icons of the past through rendered images and diagrams: images from old children's books, passages from Sunday School, photographs of family, farm tools or other implements, and more. Biblical passages, phrases from hymns, or original poetry straddle the worlds of living/dead and physical/spiritual. Bergmeier references the temporal nature of this life and allusions to eternity with flowers and skeletal illusions; both types of images reference Isaiah 40:8 and draw upon the traditional use of momento mori: “remember you must die.” All of these images ask the viewer to wrestle with the spiritual practices of confession and mercy while living in a physical world.
Additional Information & Resources
Purchase part of the Confession and Mercy Suite | $250 each
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John Bergmeier
John Bergmeier received a BA in Studio Arts from Hastings College and an MFA in Printmaking and Drawing from Wichita State University. Bergmeier works in the decorative films industry, teaches studio art and graphic design at the college level, and has exhibited internationally. He currently is working on prints and mixed media pieces in the studio space shared with his wife, Carla, in Waxhaw, North Carolina.