‘Out of the Box’ featuring Decker, Bercier opens Saturday at Gallery

Guests at Saturday night’s “Out of the Box” gala opening at The Gallery won’t be disappointed. The event is free and the public is invited.

“Out of the Box” will feature the work of veteran Lafayette artist Claire Decker alongside that of Tess Bercier of Rayne, a relative newcomer to the art scene.

Decker, who was born in Baton Rouge, holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. She is what one might call a modern-day “Renaissance woman,” with her talents extending well beyond the realm of drawing and painting and into poetry and acting.

According to Decker, her art encompasses a balance of modern and realism. Line combines with balance of color to form the basis for her unique style of art. She usually works in acrylics because she “doesn’t like to wait so long for oil paint to dry.”

Decker is an old hand when it comes to showing her art. In 1992, she was chosen as one of 12 American artists to exhibit in Athens, Greece, in commemoration of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. In 1999, she was the first American and the first woman to have a one-woman art show in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Her work has also been exhibited in a number of Louisiana museums, including the Gueydan Art & History Museum, the Kaplan Museum of Art and the Abbeville Art Museum.

For Bercier, on the other hand, this will be her first show. 

Bercier grew up in Rayne and is a self-taught artist. She recalls that she began painting at a young age, when she discovered that she could communicate things that were difficult for her to express in words.

Bercier’s canvases tend to be large, inviting the viewer to enter her paintings, which combine what she sees with what she feels. Her style is bold and expansive, and her canvases are splashed with bright and daring color.

From Bercier, attendees at Saturday night’s event can expect a wide variety of subjects and some mixed media, as well.

“Out of the Box” will hang at The Gallery throughout the month of May. The Gallery is located at 222 N. Parkerson Ave. in Crowley,  and it is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 783-3747.