A woman with long wavy red hair and blue eyes sitting on a chair in a living room, wearing a dark denim jacket and brown pants, with a large abstract painting on the wall behind her.

Amy Berlin (b.1976) is a Dallas-based self-taught contemporary artist. Berlin forages aged book pages and found materials for her mixed-media works.

Berlin’s work is informed by her background as an English major, former creative agency owner, and avid reader. Her profound appreciation for books has shaped her perspective.

Person examining photographs and artwork laid out on a beige carpeted floor, including images of natural landscapes, abstract designs, and geometric patterns.

While books are the primary source material, Berlin also uses vintage braille, handmade paper, player piano rolls, typing paper, and other discarded and handmade materials, including her own mixed-media remnants made with paint, chalk pastels, graphite, and ink.

Repurposing and elevating the cast-offs is part of her commitment to stewardship: the responsible overseeing and protection of something worth caring for and preserving. She aims to acknowledge the inherent value of the book by using every part to give birth to something with new meaning.

Her two-part process begins with deconstruction. She moves quickly and methodically, removing the dust jacket and the hard covers, then searches for pages without type and those with solid swaths of a specific palette. It is a process of elimination, an underlying approach and storyline that has consistently run through her life. The sound of ripping is music. Piles create order out of chaos.

She identifies the parts that hold significance before engaging in the second part of the process: the build.

A pair of old, tarnished scissors with a gold handle lies on a white surface, with some fabric pieces surrounding it.

The build is a non-linear, intuitive practice, fitting the pieces together like a puzzle to yield a sense of balance and calm. Each separate piece finds its place of belonging and brings significance to the composition. As the swift rhythm of deconstruction slows to a contemplative, deliberate pace, the noise in Amy’s head quiets, and her anxiety ceases to hum.

The completed work reflects the memory of the process and the wonder of new creation.

A woman with long red hair sitting on a beige sofa in a living room, smiling, with a view of a backyard through large glass doors behind her. The room has a large potted plant and a wooden coffee table with books underneath, and a patterned area rug.

CV


Born
1976 in MI

Works
Dallas, TX

Exhibitions
2026 – Boll & Branch, Dallas, TX
2024 – Boll & Branch, Dallas, TX
2023 – Uprise Art, Focus Collection: Summer 2023
2020 – Exhibited online in the Togetherness Exhibit

Special Projects
2026 – Created Mural for Reserve P/S Private Terminal at DFW Airport
2025 – Created Wallcoverings, Artist Series VII – Look Walls & Interiors
2023 – Participated in “Design on a Dime” for Housing Works, NY
2021 – Featured at Kips Bay Showhouse, Dallas, TX
2020 – Featured at Kips Bay Showhouse, Dallas, TX
2019 – Featured at Hampton Designer Showhouse, NY

Selected Press
2026 - Travel & Leisure, “This Luxury Airport Lets You Skip the Terminal Entirely—And It’s Coming to Dallas“
2024 – D Home, "Seven Local Artists Dallas’ Designers Most Admire”
2023 – Luxe, “Step Inside a Dallas Residence with a Refined Sense of Color”
2022 – Featured in House Beautiful

Education
1998 – BA, Cum Laude, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
Semester Abroad, Lincoln College, Oxford, England

Clients
Parachute Home, Magnolia Network/Joanna Gaines, Four Hands, Sassetta (The Joule Hotel), Reserve P/S

Retailers have included: Shoppe Amber Interiors, McGee & Co, Anthropologie, Lulu & Georgia, Neiman Marcus, Perigold, France & Son, Scout & Nimble, Joon Loloi, West Elm

Thank you for visiting.
Please reach out if you feel inclined.

I’d love to connect with you.

Black and white drawing of two praying hands placed together
@amy__berlin