For this month’s Member Showcase, we are featuring the photographic work of Neil Berkowitz. Read below to learn more about his recent artistic projects.
NEIL BERKOWITZ – member since 2020
What are you working on?
I am working on a design commission for art for 750 sqft for the interior of the new branch of Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s clinic that is under construction near Othello Station. The design is all multilayer photography and includes several larger-than-life-sized portraits, a mural, and several other elements. By contract, I cannot show the work until after Seattle Children’s releases it to the public.
I also began a two-month Shoreline Arts Cottage Residency in mid-August in that city’s Saltwater Park. I will be working on a multi-piece installation dealing with responsibility for carbon footprints and a side project with the community on the park and place identity. The carbon footprint installation will include but not solely photographic work. The side project will have a Web presence and will be the subject of a panel discussion in October. Details and open studio hours will be posted on neilberkowitz.com in late August.
Artist Statement
My arts practice has been in increased flux for three years. I wanted to produce more topical work without sacrificing aesthetic concerns. This meant introducing creative decision-making into the lens-based creative process earlier. I found an approach during an April 2018 residency working on the digital layering of photographic images. This is now the core of my practice. It provides a blank space in which to explore both social and aesthetic issues and at the same time provides a tremendous range of possibility in transparency, texture, and color that would be unattainable in most single-layered lens-based work.
See more of Neil’s photography online at: https://neilberkowitz.com
Thanks again to Neil for his submission to our Member Showcase. If you’re a member of PCNW and would like to share your photographs, we’d love to hear from you. Complete our online form by the 15th of every month and a jury will review your work for consideration. Not a PCNW Member yet? You can join online today!
