Ciel Olsen Bergman (1938–2017), also known as Cheryl Marie Olsen, was born in Berkeley, California, and was a Post-Modernist painter whose work focused on environmental conservation, feminine spirituality, and the collective unconscious. Growing up in Berkeley, Bergman spent a lot of time at the Brundage Collection at the De Young Museum, which influenced her interest in the vibrant Asian aesthetic of the Pacific Basin cultures. Bergman first trained as a psychiatric nurse during the late 1950’s and married Lynn F. Bowers, which prompted her move to Germany until 1964, when she returned to California to complete her MFA in painting at the San Francisco Art Institute under Fred Martin in 1973.

She won a SECA Award in painting from the SFMOMA in 1975, was included in the Whitney Biennial of American Art in 1975, and was awarded a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award in 1980. She has received fellowships from the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque in 1972 and from the Vermont Art Colony in 1988, and was invited to submit for an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award in 1987. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with exhibitions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Brussels, and London. Her work is also held in major public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Orange County Museum of Art.

A pioneering voice in environmental and feminist art, Bergman’s influential installations addressed ecological crises and spiritual transformation, such as "Sea of Clouds What Can I Do?", an exhibition where Bergman and her collaborator Nancy Merrill collected trash off the beach and installed seven trash cans full of garbage at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum. She was also involved in the creation of “Phasphalt”, a form of asphalt made from recycled plastic, which her former partner, Gary Fishback, and son Erik Bowers developed at TEWA Technology.  

She taught at the University of California, Berkeley, for a few years before joining the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she worked for 18 years (1976-1994) and received tenure as a Full-time Professor. She then moved to the quiet wilderness of Northern New Mexico, where she had a studio on Cerro Pedernal. Her final move was to Santa Fe in 2006, where she continued to paint, inspired by the landscapes around her.

Much of her work is created in sets of 3-8 pieces, yet each piece still stands out as a strong work of art on its own. Bergman incorporates imagery drawn from water, roses, and human anatomy, often using organic shapes and colors, with red being frequently used for its complex symbolism. In her own words, “I am drawn to work which engages compassion, suggests the fragility of relationships in all forms, the organic, the simple and elegant, the raw and sensuous, the subtle and certainly the ineffable.”

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

2004
BLOOD MILK AND WATER, Linda Durham Contemporary art, Santa Fe, NM
2002
THE ALCHEMY OF DEVOTION, R. B. Stevenson Gallery, San Diego, CA
2000
ANTIDOTES, Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM
2000
THE LAST SUNSET OF THE 20TH CENTURY, R. B. Stevenson Gallery, San Diego, CA. January 14 - February 19.
1998
Ciel Bergman BEFORE NEW MEXICO/AFTER CALIFORNIA: paintings & Drawings, 1980-1998. Richard L. Nelson Gallery, UC Davis, Nov. 8 through Dec. 18 Brochure.
1990
GOOD WILD SACRED, Jaffe Baker Gallery, Boca Raton FL.
1989
GOOD WILD SACRED, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
1987
SEA OF CLOUDS WHAT CAN I DO, Santa Barbara contemporary Art Forum. Assistant/Collaborator, Nancy Merrill.
1986
DARK ONES, Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA.
1985
CHERYL BOWERS at IVORY/KIMPTON. Fifth Anniversary Exhibition, San Francisco, CA.
1983
RED GATE, Kirk deGooyer Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
1982
TEMPLES, Ian Birksted Gallery, London, England.
1981
TEMPLES, Ian Birksted Gallery, London, England.
Ivory/Kimpton Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1981
TRIAL FOR PASSAGE, Kirk deGooyer Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
1980
WORK ON PAPER, Ian Birkstad Gallery, London, England.
NEW WORK-Cheryl Bowers, Ivory/Kimpton Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1979
THE CHINA POEMS, Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA.
Hamilton Gallery of Contemporary Art, New York City, NY.
1979
GRAFFITI, Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
The paintings of CHERYL BOWERS, Grossmont College San Diego, CA.
1978
EGYPTIAN CONCOLUMNS, California State University, Hayward, CA.
NEW WORK, UC Santa Barbara, University Art Museum.
1977
BLACK TOOL paintings, University of Oregon Art Museum, Eugene, OR.
1975
S.E.C.A. AWARD, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Curator, Suzanne Foley. San Francisco, CA.
1974
STRING QUARTET PERFORMS from THE CLAY DRAWINGS, Intersection S. F.
1973
SPIRITUAL GUIDE MAPS, Malvina Miller Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1968
MENDOCINO WINDOWS, Gallery West, Mendocino, CA.

TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS:
2000
CIEL BERGMAN / SHAUN GILMORE, Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo, NM

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2008
WOMEN'S WORK, Four Painters, RB Stevenson Gallery, La Jolla, CA
2006
The Barry Berkus and Family Art Collection, Channing Peake Gallery, Santa Barbara
County Arts Commission. Catalogue
2003
DUCT AND COVER, The Santa Fe Art Institute, NM
2002
WOMEN BEYOND BORDERS, University Art Museum, Santa Barbara, CA
Representing Landscape, UCSD Art Gallery, San Diego, CA
2001
SITE UNSEEN 2 (benefit), James Kelly/Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Originals, New Mexico Women Artists, National Museum of Women in the Arts
The Harwood Museum, September-November, Taos, NM
The Necessary Beauty, R. B. Stevenson Gallery, San Diego, CA
2000
WBB - Greece. United Kingdom. Singapore.
1999
BEFORE/NOW, Images of the self, past and present, Bergamot Station T2, Santa Monica. Curated by Barbara Drucker, April.
1998
THE ART OF DRAWING, James Kelly Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM.
TREES & FACES, Santa Fe International Academy of Art, Santa Fe, NM.
WBB-Katamndu, Nepal. Toronto, Canada. Havana, Cuba. Oaxaca, Mexico.
1997
WOMEN/BEYOND BORDERS, traveling, Kenya National Museum, Gallery of Contemporary East African Art, Nairobi, Kenya. Extra Moenia-arte Moderna, Todi, Italy. Kuturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden, United Kingdom. Traveling worldwide: 200 women artists from 20 countries.
1996
FLOWER POWER, Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos, CA.
1995
CELEBRATION, La Galeria Arriba, Abiquiu, New Mexico. Curated by Rose Gutierres.
WOMEN/BEYOND BORDERS, Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum (premier exhibition), Santa Barbara, CA.
1995
SCISSORS, PAPER, STONE: NINE WOMEN WORKING, Santa Maria Museum Art Center, CA.
1995
VERDE QUE TE QUIERO VERDE, a joint exhibition of artists from Spain and the United States, California State University Long Beach. Curator/Catalogue, John de Heras.
1995
FLORA: CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND THE WORLD OF FLOWERS, curated by Thomas H. Garver, for Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum, traveling to Art Museum of the Southeast Texas, New Mexico Museum of Natural History, Gibbes Museum, NC, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, TN. Catalogue: Thomas H. Garver.
1994
JUST FRIENDS, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley. Curator Luis Garcia.
Ro Snell Gallery, selected Antidote Drawings, Santa Barbara, CA.
ROMANTIC MODERNISM, Santa Fe Museum of Art, one work exhibited concurrent with main exhibition, curated Sandy Ballatore.
1993
THE SACRED IN THE ARTS, Synod Hall, The Cathedral of St. John The Divine, New York City, NY.
EXCELLENCE HAS NO GENDER, Barbara Warwick Gallery, Seattle, WA.
1992
ARTE ACTUAL DE LOS ANGELES Obras sobre Papel, 31 Artistas-Profesores Californianos. Departmento de Didactica de la Expresion Plastica, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.
1992
AN ISSUE OF WATER, Donna Beam Gallery, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Catalogue, Director Jerry A. Schefck.
DREAMS AND SHIELDS, Spiritual Dimensions in Contemporary Art, Salt Lake Art Center, Utah. Catalogue/Curator, Frank McEntire.
1991
CHALLENGING MYTHS - FIVE ARTISTS, Bakersfield Art Museum. Curator, Heather S. Lineberry. Bakersfield, CA.
SANTA BARBARA ARTISTS I, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, SB, CA.
TREES, Warwick Gallery, Seattle, WA.
FACULTY EXHIBITION, UCSB Museum, Santa Barbara, CA.
1990
MEMORY - Kevin Beer, Ciel Bergman, Terry Robertson, Masako Takahadshi. Totoro Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
CULTURAL IMPERATIVES IN THE ECOLOGICAL AGE, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL.
ON PAPER GALLERY II, MAN AND NATURE, a communication for peace, with an appreciation by Paul Winter. The second in a thematically linked book of postcards, mailed worldwide. Published in Tokyo, Japan. Invitational.
1990
GARBARE OUT FRONT, A NEW ERA OF PUBLIC DESIGN, The New York City Municipal Art Society. Curator, Mierle Laderman Ukeles.
1989
REVELATIONS - THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPULSE IN RECENT ART, Aspen Art Museum, CO. Curator David Floria. Catalogue, John Perreault.
BOLD STROKES AND QUIET GESTURES: 20th CENTURY WORKS ON PAPER, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, SB, CA.
FACULTY EXHIBITION, University Art Museum, UCSB, CA.
PRIVATE RESERVE: IMPORTANT WORK BY ARTISTS REPRESENTED BY THE GALLERY, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA.
1988
PASSAGES: A SURVEY OF CALIFORNIA WOMEN ARTISTS, 1945 TO THE PRESENT, THE YEARS OF PASSAGE: 1969-1975. Fresno Art Center and Museum. Curator, Kathryn Funk. Fresno, CA.
1987
DIVERSITY AND PRESENCE, WOMEN ARTIST FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, travel to 6 campuses. Curator, Kathryn Diage Warren.
1986
WOMEN'S SENSIBILITIES - National Juried Exhibition, WARM Gallery, Minneapolis, MN. Invitational. Curators: Tillie Olsen, Betsy Damon and Julie Yanson.
1985
A CITY COLLECTS, Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, CA.
X-CHANGE, CELEBRATING ART MADE OUT-OF-THE-MAINSTREAM, traveling; Anchorage, Alaska and Moscow, Idaho. Curator, Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum.
NEW DIRECTIONS / CALIFORNIA paintings 1985, Visual Arts Center, Anchorage, Alaska. Curator, Pamela Hammond.
1985
UCSB ART FACULTY EXHIBITION, University Museum, Santa Barbara, CA.
D'ANNUNZIO PROJECT, collaboration with 16 painter / sculptors, Oranges & Sardines, Los Angeles, CA.
1985
BIENNALE DES FRIEDENS, Skulpturen, Bilder, Mailart, Video, Akustische Objekte, Installationen. Kunsthaus und Kunstverein, Hamburg, Germany.
1984
TO THE ASTONISHING HORIZON, Los Angeles Design Center, LA, CA. Curator, Peter Frank.
FROM AVERY TO ZUBURAN - A NEW VIEW OF THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, Santa Barbara Museum of Art. CA.
SANTA BARBARA LANDSCAPE, College of Creative Studies, UCSB.
WATERCOLOR: A CONTEMPORARY SURVEY, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA.
1983
NATIONAL INVITATIONAL, University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii.
BY THE SEA, paintings & SCULPTURES BY INVITED ARTISTS, Meredith Niles Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA.
HISTORY paintings TODAY, Ian Birksted Gallery, London England.
OF THIS TIME, OF THAT PLACE, Open Space Gallery. Curator, Mary Hicks. Victoria, British Columbia.
NATIONAL WATERCOLOR INVITATIONAL, University of Wisconsin.
1982
FRESH PAINT - 15 CALIFORNIA ARTISTS, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, CA. Curator, George W. Neubert.
1981
WORK ON PAPER, Ian Birksted Gallery, London, England.
SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE ALUMNI EXHIBITION, throughout city.
1980
WORK ON PAPER, Ian Birksted Gallery, Brussels, Belgium.
1979
LITHOGRAPHS, Impressions Gallery, Boston, MA.
CHROMA, Cedar / Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.
SANTA BARBARA ARTISTS, Invitational, CAF, Santa Barbara, CA.
1978
Abstract Drawing, Baum / Silverman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
VARIOUS DIRECTIONS, Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
1977
CRIMES OF PASSION, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
THREE CALIFORNIA ARTISTS, Florida Institute of Technology, Orlando, FL.
1976
VISITING ARTISTS, Worth Ryder Gallery, UCB, Berkeley, CA.
OAKAND '76, Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, CA.
18 BAY AREA ARTISTS, Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA. Catalogue.
THREE BAY AREA ARTISTS, Art Museum, UC Riverside. Curator, Kirk deGooyer. Catalogue essay, Mary Stofflet.
1975
WHITNEY BIENNIAL EXHIBITION OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN paintings AND SCULPTURE, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, NY.
BOWERS, GONZALES, VOULKOS, Smith-Anderson Gallery, Palo Alto, CA.
INTERSTICES, San Jose Museum of Art.
KQED Art Auction (juried) Crown Zellerbach, San Francisco, CA.
1974
ACHENBACH INVITATIONAL DRAWING SHOW, Palace of The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA.
1974
DRAWINGS FROM THE GALLERY, Malvina Miller Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
BLACK & WHITE: A DRAWING SHOW, San Francisco Art Commission Gallery, Capricorn Asunder, San Francisco, CA.
MFA EXHIBITION, San Francisco Art Institute, CA.
1973
TOYS BY ARTISTS, New Museum of Modern Art, Oakland, CA.
John Doyle Galley, Chicago, IL.
WOMEN FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, University Art Museum, UCB.
CHRISTMAS SHOW, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SF, CA.
RECENT ACQUISITIONS, University Art Museum, Berkeley, CA.
1973
DAVIDSON NATIONAL PRINT & DRAWING COMPETITION, N. Carolina. Juror, Clement Greenberg.
NATIONAL DRAWING COMPETITION, New York. Juror, Larry Rivers.
LITHOGRAPHS, KIKO GALLERY, HOUSTON, TX.
1972
NINTH ANNUAL SMALL DRAWING & SCULPTURE EXHIBITION, Bellingham, WA. Juror, Dr. Peter Selz.
1971
KQED COMPETITION, John Bolles Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
1969
INVITATIONAL, Award, Jack London Group Show, Oakland, CA.

AWARDS / COMMISSIONS:
1989
(Commission) THE WATERFALL, a ceramic tile amphitheater. Installed August 1990 at Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara. In collaboration with Sheldon Kaganoff.
1988
Fellowship, Vermont Art School and Studio Colony.
1987
Invited to Submit for an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award.
1986
(Commission) The BRIDGE, a mural scale installation, 2 & 3D ceramic, stone and lead sculptural, free standing objects. Installed at Gildea Environmental Resource Center, SB, CA.
1980
LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AWARD, painting.
1975
SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE CREATIVE ARTS AWARD, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. (SECA)
1972
Tamarind Lithographic Institute Artists Fellowship, Albuquerque, NM.
1972
Graduate Honors, San Francisco Art Institute.
1969
First Place (painting) Jack London Invitational.

“Paint is liquid matter and therefore the only limitation on its use is the human imagination; having experimented freely in my earlier years, I find I am fundamentally interested in what paint, wielded as it has been for centuries, can still communicate. I utilize traditional materials and techniques: oil paint, linseed oil, wax, liquin, turpentine and various additives: under painting, building and glazing. I am deeply moved by the color of the world; my attention is constantly riveted by the wonder of, for instance, red paint, when it remains only the physical stuff on a surface or mysteriously shifts, transforms into meaning, the instant the brain registers recognition, 'ah, a rose petal' or a blood stain or tissue. Where is the edge?

I find it tragic to live in a culture where scientific imagination is applauded and artistic imagination is suspect, for they derive from the same search.

Philosophically and politically, it is my opinion that one of the major tasks of the arts in the 21st Century is to relink culture and nature. Intellectually I reject puritanism, dogmas of any description, hegemonies and systems which suppress independent thought or dictate mass response and mass behavior. Intuitively, I feel too much has been discussed and written about painting in this century. There are those of us who need to paint and those of us who need to see paint and those of us who don't care one way or another. The need to paint is in me, a life-force; a metabolic result of my being. It is an essential vent for the intensity of the awe (beauty) and terror (horror) of being alive. It is also, an ordering process whereby I might gift back to others, if I am true, a shared experience of the ecstasy of seeing. What drives my vision seems to be the need to locate a particular orientation, a 'genetically felt' space in which a simultaneous multiplicity of disparate realities coexist. And if I write that I am in search of an unknown - the deep feminine - I hope I will not be misunderstood. I feel my work may grow closer to silence and become more contemplative as I further mature.

Cynicism, irony, sarcasm and related postures hold no interest for me. Rather I am drawn to work which engages compassion, suggests the fragility of relationships in all forms, the organic, the simple and elegant, the raw and sensuous, the subtle and certainly the ineffable.”

-Ciel Bergman