Elizabeth Bergeland: While You Were Sleeping at Studio 105, Ray Philly

Studio 105 at Ray Philly proudly presents While You Were Sleeping, a solo exhibition featuring new works by Philadelphia-based oil painter Elizabeth Bergeland. Running from March 22 to May 11, 2025, the show explores the tension between connection and solitude, ambition and exhaustion, and the overwhelming demands of modern life.

Navigating the Weight of the Modern World

Bergeland’s work offers a deeply personal meditation on the relentless expectations of contemporary existence. While You Were Sleeping dramatizes the emotional and physical weight of womanhood, motherhood, ambition, and technology’s ever-growing presence. In an era that glorifies efficiency, the artist reflects on the price we pay for being constantly available and engaged.

Bergeland describes the work as a response to her own dread: “We weren’t made for a world this fast, yet we are judged and celebrated or forgotten by the speed and aptitude of our engagement.” The exhibition stands at the crossroads of craving connection and seeking escape, mirroring the artist’s own inner conflicts.

A Collision of Themes in Paint

At the heart of the exhibition is the monumental self-titled triptych, While You Were Sleeping, an 18-foot-long painting depicting figures in a slow-motion collision. Suspended in chaos, the figures seem tangled in a storm of their own making. As Bergeland notes, “Ushering in something terrible, something great, but always something unfamiliar.”

Symbolism plays a critical role throughout the works. Sunburns—a recurring theme in Bergeland’s paintings—represent a persistent sense of unease, a feeling of being unprepared for the world. Chickens, tagged and tracked, march across the bodies, a nod to the incessant demands of productivity and communication. And the ongoing push-and-pull of womanhood manifests in deeply conflicted emotions: “Manage your sex appeal! Manage his ego! I resent it, I revel in it, I resist it, I perform it.” Motherhood, too, is explored in its contradictions: both a gift and a loss, a miraculous act that simultaneously diminishes and elevates one's existence.

Yet, despite the weight of these themes, moments of levity break through. The doodled faces on fingers offer a playful reminder: It’s not so serious.

Scenes of Domesticity with an Underlying Unease

Beyond the triptych, the accompanying works examine intimate, everyday moments but with a subtle undercurrent of tension.

In Potato/Potatoe, hands pass food across a table, a simple and familiar gesture, yet in the background, another set of hands engage in an arm wrestle. A finger dips into the murky water of a fishbowl, introducing an element of disruption. Children’s string hand games appear on the verge of frustration. These scenes suggest a world where even the simplest acts are fraught with complexity.

Bergeland’s work is a push and pull between stillness and motion, ambition and longing. In a society that constantly demands more—more production, more engagement, more speed—her paintings urge us to pause, to reflect, and to question the price of relentless progress.

Opening Reception and Artist-Led Program

While You Were Sleeping opens on March 22, 2025, with a reception from 6-9 PM at Studio 105, Ray Philly. Bergeland will also lead a special artist program during the exhibition’s run, with details to be announced soon.

For inquiries about artwork sales or more information, please contact Studio 105 at Ray Philly at studio105@rayisaplace.com. Proceeds from commissions will be reinvested into sustaining this free and publicly accessible art space.

About the Artist

Elizabeth Bergeland (b. 1983) grew up in Wyoming and Colorado before earning her BFA in Painting and Anthropology from the University of Colorado in 2006. Her work, rich in symbolism and deeply personal themes, merges figurative realism with surreal elements, exploring themes of connection, doubt, and time.

Bergeland’s first solo exhibition, Quiet Boy, was held at Hotbed Gallery, Philadelphia, in 2022. Her work has been featured in Create! Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Friend of the Artist, 1st Look TV, Root Quarterly, The Visionary Projects, and the 2024 SPRING/BREAK Art Show, where she was selected as an Artist Spotlight. She has also illustrated children’s books, including Being Edie is Hard Today (2019) and The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection (2021), the latter earning a Kirkus Star and recognition by NPR and Smithsonian Magazine.

She lives and works in Philadelphia, PA, with her husband and three children.

About Ray and Studio 105 at Ray Philly

Ray is a residential development company dedicated to making art and culture a part of daily life. Founded by Dasha Zhukova Niarchos, Ray draws inspiration from her experience in cultural institutions like the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. Ray integrates contemporary art into built environments, fostering creative communities. Learn more at www.rayisaplace.com.

Studio 105 at Ray Philly is a rotating exhibition space located in South Kensington, Philadelphia. Designed to provide a platform for local artists and curators, Studio 105 hosts exhibitions, workshops, talks, and community events. For more information, visit www.rayphilly.com/art-and-culture.

Press Contact:
Jennifer Brady
jbrady@prconsulting.net
516-805-7220
Ray Philly, Attn: Studio 105
1525 N American Street, #105
Philadelphia, PA 19122

Exhibition Hours:
Wednesday - Sunday, 12-6 PM