Berenice Sydney British, 1944-1983
Dark Forest Surprise (Black, Blue, Red and White), 1974
screenprint
80 x 60 cm
Edition of 100 plus APs
Berenice’s screenprints of the mid-1970s demonstrate her playful approach to colour, shape and composition. Working with cut-paper forms and saturated colour fields, she created bold arrangements in which abstract shapes...
Berenice’s screenprints of the mid-1970s demonstrate her playful approach to colour, shape and composition. Working with cut-paper forms and saturated colour fields, she created bold arrangements in which abstract shapes appear to interact with one another, revealing the humour, spontaneity and visual wit central to her printmaking practice.
One of Berenice Sydney's Screenprints is in the permanent collection of Tate Britain, London.
'Screenprint with Balance' (1974). Presented by the artist in 1976.
Berenice Sydney (b.1944 - d.1984, British) was a multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompassed painting, printmaking, drawing, works on papyrus, costume design and performance. Initially influenced by Cubism and Fauvism, she moved towards abstraction in the late 1960s, developing a visual language defined by vibrant colour, dynamic compositions and rhythmic forms. Music and dance, particularly ballet and flamenco, remained central influences throughout her career, informing her exploration of movement, gesture and the relationship between colour and form. An accomplished printmaker, Sydney experimented extensively with techniques including etching, aquatint, lithography and screenprinting, approaching each medium as a distinct means of artistic expression.
Sydney studied at the Central School of Art and Design in London before establishing her own studio. During her lifetime, she participated in more than forty exhibitions internationally, including representing Great Britain at the Biennale della Grafica d’Arte in Florence in 1974. Following her death in 1983, the Royal Academy presented *Salute to Berenice* (1984), with subsequent exhibitions across Europe and the Middle East. Her work was later presented at the Saatchi Gallery in London in 2018. In 2026, Gillian Jason Gallery presented “*Searching for Berenice’, a retrospective*, bringing together works from across her career in the most comprehensive examination of her practice to date. Her work is represented in over one hundred public and private collections worldwide, including Tate, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Uffizi Gallery and the Smithsonian Institution.
One of Berenice Sydney's Screenprints is in the permanent collection of Tate Britain, London.
'Screenprint with Balance' (1974). Presented by the artist in 1976.
Berenice Sydney (b.1944 - d.1984, British) was a multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompassed painting, printmaking, drawing, works on papyrus, costume design and performance. Initially influenced by Cubism and Fauvism, she moved towards abstraction in the late 1960s, developing a visual language defined by vibrant colour, dynamic compositions and rhythmic forms. Music and dance, particularly ballet and flamenco, remained central influences throughout her career, informing her exploration of movement, gesture and the relationship between colour and form. An accomplished printmaker, Sydney experimented extensively with techniques including etching, aquatint, lithography and screenprinting, approaching each medium as a distinct means of artistic expression.
Sydney studied at the Central School of Art and Design in London before establishing her own studio. During her lifetime, she participated in more than forty exhibitions internationally, including representing Great Britain at the Biennale della Grafica d’Arte in Florence in 1974. Following her death in 1983, the Royal Academy presented *Salute to Berenice* (1984), with subsequent exhibitions across Europe and the Middle East. Her work was later presented at the Saatchi Gallery in London in 2018. In 2026, Gillian Jason Gallery presented “*Searching for Berenice’, a retrospective*, bringing together works from across her career in the most comprehensive examination of her practice to date. Her work is represented in over one hundred public and private collections worldwide, including Tate, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Uffizi Gallery and the Smithsonian Institution.