My Fair Indy
“The State Fair? in Winter?” This was the initial response around the Harrison Center when we caught wind of Dee Dee Bernhardt’s upcoming fair-themed show My Fair Indy. Outside, Indianapolis winter had almost begun, and with it, a certain acceptance of dreary days and muted colors. Bernhardt is a clever artist though, and sitting in City Gallery now after the show has been installed, it feels like the timing couldn’t have been any better. My Fair Indy has illuminated the Harrison Center with its candy-colored palette and good sense of humor. Instead of a dry take on a local favorite, the show hums with nostalgia, as Bernhardt reflects on contemporary American traditions with infectious optimism.
Dee Dee Bernhardt
A Good Day to Dive Hard
Oil on Canvas
20" x 10"
Dee Dee Bernhardt is an Ohio-based artist who describes herself as “semi-retired.” Her lifestyle is, like her work, filled with a love for nostalgia–as she recently took on the ambitious project of restoring a 1968 vintage camper with her husband. In My Fair Indy, Bernhardt continues to express her interest in all things vintage. She even goes as far as to frame some of the pieces in aquamarine frames reminiscent of verdigris, a color popular in the midcentury (think: oxidated pennies, or your grandma’s tea set.)
Dee Dee Bernhardt
Happy Feet
Oil on Board
10" x 8"
Berhardt painted 41 miniatures for this exhibit. They function as tiny snapshots–a boy on a carousel, a bumblebee, a melting ice cream cone, goldfish in a bag–each is like a polaroid of a fleeting moment from the State Fair. The paintings here are not intended to be true-to-life snapshots from the fair, but rather how one would remember the event on a dull winter day. Bernhardt leans into this dream-like quality of painting: depicting scenes in-between the real and imagined– like a perfectly sculpted bundle of cotton candy against a cartoon-blue sky.
Dee Dee Bernhardt
It's a Wonderful Life
Oil on Board
3 1/2" x 2 1/2"
These moments of unrestrained good humor remind me of artists like Norman Rockwell and his optimistic depictions of everyday life in midcentury America. There’s an undeniable American-ness to this show; though notably, Bernhardt’s “American Dream” has bid farewell to the often racially exclusive history of American Idealism held by her formers. Instead, Bernhardt’s fair celebrates its diversity.
Dee Dee Bernhardt
My Fair Lady
Oil on Canvas
20" x 16"
In naming these pieces, Bernhardt favors movie titles – to fun effect. Room with a View hones in a ferris wheel’s carriages, while a painting of a bright red lollipop affectionately receives the name Oceans Eleven. In Top Gun, two characters play one of the fair’s shooting games. Bernhardt couldn’t be more tongue-in-cheek if she tried.
Dee Dee Bernhardt
A Room With a View
Oil on Board
3 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Dee Dee Bernhardt
Top Gun
Oil on Board
2 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Dee Dee Bernhardt has given us a cool, ice cream-filled oasis in the middle of a midwestern winter. It’s still chilly, but in the way you may feel chilly after going down a water slide, or clinching a can of soda fresh out of the cooler. My Fair Indy is a reminder that traditions are not always stuffy – they can be whatever you want them to be. After all, we’re the ones who make traditions. In return, they make us who we are, and fill our lives with a little bit of fun, giving us something to look forward to on bleaker days.
Dee Dee Bernhardt
Hoosiers
Oil on Canvas
16" x 20"
My Fair Indy is on display in City Gallery through the month of December.