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Mia Bergeron’s interest in art was cultivated early on, beginning with continuous exposure to visual works through her parents’ graphic design firm in New York City. As a high school student, Mia pursued the arts both at the curricular and extracurricular levels, and in 1998 she was admitted to the Rhode Island School of Design. After a year of intensive foundation courses, she decided to leave RISD to pursue a more traditional painting program.
Mia explains her work by saying, “Growing up in New York City with two graphic designers for parents, I was always drawn to bold shapes and colors. Emphasis on patterns and design were household commonalities. However, in my early 20’s during my time spent in Italy, I began to become more fluent in the subtleties that the figure, as a subject, presented. By studying the classical discipline of painting figures and people, I began to notice the curious transformation that figurative art has taken over the centuries. I was fascinated with the figure as an ideal form. In contrast to this idealization, I was also studying classical portraiture, an art form that was tireless in its rendition of details and accurate observance.”