Sara Tuttle, an artist who has lived in Richmond for 16 years, opened the new Foyer Gallery in June in the Arts District after noticing not only the abundance of wildly talented artists, but that there weren’t enough galleries to promote their work. She also hadn’t perceived a solid culture of art collecting in the region to support the artists’ practices.

Her goal was to open a gallery that would be strategically hospitable, the kind where the gallerist smiles and welcomes visitors in, is conversational and explains things, lists prices, has toys for kids and will pull anything out for visitors to see.

“I chose the name Foyer for its reference to the home and a space where people gather and are welcomed,” Tuttle explains. “I wanted to open a gallery that exhibits both emerging and established artists, with the accompanying range of price points, so that many different people can walk in and find a piece they love.”

Most of the artists shown at Foyer are regional artists or those who have a connection to Richmond. Patrick Berran, whose exhibit “Burn Blue” opens at Foyer on Friday, Sept. 5, is an example of an established artist — he’s represented by Chapter, NY and his work can be found in prestigious collections around the world — with deep connections to Richmond. Berran went to Virginia Commonwealth University for undergrad and he and his wife traveled back and forth to Richmond for his cancer treatments. They’re currently living in Richmond as he undergoes a stem cell transplant at VCU’s Massey Cancer Center. This is the second time he’s been diagnosed with the same form of lymphoma.

“During my first diagnosis, I was in such pain that I couldn’t walk or stand for long periods of time, so, I started to collect scraps from my studio and began making small collages at the table,” Berran says. “Once those were used up, I began creating my own collage material on a larger scale and it snowballed to what I’m doing now.”

From the age of 8 through 18, he took weekly art classes where he would draw from life or photographs, primarily working in realism. In his collages, various papers are glued onto the surface using archival gel matte medium, allowing him to incorporate elements of printing, drawing and painting together in one artwork. “During that time I took classes, I learned to work with watercolors, gouache, colored pencils and pastel,” Berran says. “Now I enjoy how a collaged move can interrupt the space and provide a different surface to investigate as your eye travels over the work.”

Completion of a piece occurs only after Berran executes his aim, whether it’s to tackle different ideas of space or using different colors from a previous work. Although the process varies, he knows when he’s finished. “In the end, I want an artwork to live on its own,” he says. “I want it to have a personality that can exist without me pushing and prodding it anymore.”

With this new exhibition, “Burn Blue,” Tuttle recognized a very different body of work from what Berran had shown at his last exhibition in New York, making it very much in line with Foyer’s mission to show new work by artists who are continuing to push the boundaries of their practices. “It’s the most exuberant painting show I’ve seen in a while,” Tuttle says. “Not what you might expect from someone battling cancer.”

The work in the exhibit feels celebratory, full of life and expression. The colors are much bolder and brighter than in his past works, the shapes more organic. They’re also some of the biggest works he’s shown together in almost a decade. “This body of work has challenged me, both visually and physically,” Berran says. “Challenges are important to me to evoke growth.”

As for the show’s title, a blue flame indicates complete combustion, meaning the fuel is reacting with oxygen efficiently and fully. The blue color means a clean, complete flame, a flame at its fullest. “Over the last 18 months, that’s how I’ve felt,” Berran says. “Regardless of the treatment I’ve been through, I’ve kept pushing to be my best self in my art, in my work, and for my family.”

That push will continue after the stem cell transplant because he plans to continue working on a larger scale. The biggest work in “Burn Blue” is 75 x 56 inches.

“In the future, I’d like to hover between that scale and 40 x 30 inches,” he says. “These sizes feel really good to me at the moment, and they provided challenges but also began to feel quite natural.”

Because Beran’s stem cell transplant happened shortly before the opening of “Burn Blue,” he won’t be able to attend the opening. Tentatively, there are plans for him to do a virtual artist’s talk during the show’s run, but that will depend on his energy level post-surgery. Tuttle says the details will be announced on Foyer Gallery’s s website and Instagram.

In the meantime, Berran has his eyes on the prize, already looking forward to what comes after the exhibit and transplant are over. “Some sort of normalcy, to enjoy life with my wife and dog, my family and friends.”

Patrick Berran’s “Burn Blue” opens on Friday, Sept. 5 at 5 p.m. at Foyer Gallery, 16 W. Broad St. Foyergalleryrva.com