Piece description from the artist
When I designed this piece, I was focused on using the idea of color as a symbol for something larger and researched on the Bauhaus movement, and J. Itten in particular. In his "treatise on color" Itten created a sort of psychological language with color. Yellow symbolized truth and red symbolized passion, mix them together and you get 'presence' or 'passion for truth'. Neat, huh? So for this one, blue symbolized spirit and combined with red (passion) I felt like violet would symbolize 'impassioned spirit'. I am still fascinated by associations with color, although in my thinking now I have to recognize that our relationships to color have much to do with the environment we live in and the colors we experience there. An example is that the Hopi here in Arizona have a different relationship to the color red (earth) because of the color of the ground. This work was also the first time I used a tool called a Brayer to muddle up the surface texture. Enjoy!
Zalman Berkowitz was born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised by a strong, determined single mother in the Sonoran Desert.
Zalman’s earliest fine art studies emphasized the craft of painting. He is fascinated by color and shapes that seem to change, or occupy multiple dimensions simultaneously. His earliest color investigations were based on the combinations found in the desert environment—wildflowers, mountains and sunsets.
Zalman began painting with oil in 1996, and has had the good fortune to work with several excellent teachers. Zalman’s art practice continues with painting and began incorporating mixed media and performance poetry in 2000.
He is based in Tucson, Arizona and travels widely for the arts.
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