David Berkowitz Chicago has over 300 exhibitions presenting with over 7,000 paintings put on display. He’s been creating that art for over 50 years and he has no plans of stopping anytime soon. His love for life and his art pushes him to continue painting to his day.
Starting out, David Berkowitz Chicago attended the School of the Art Institute (SAIC). In 1969, Berkowitz discovered his affection for painting after a severe injury to his spine while playing football. While in recovery, he started to produce artwork. This is when he first felt the burning desire to create art.
“It sounds strange, but it really just called on me,” Berkowitz says. “I knew that I had a strong connection to what I was doing and I didn’t want to stop, even after the injury healed.”
In 1970, David Berkowitz Chicago joined the artist’s group, “Village.” Upon joining the group, it was obvious that he was different. Because of his unusual style, his artwork is unmistakable. He quickly gained notoriety for his style and respect for the quality of his work and his peers.
David Berkowitz Chicago explores ideas about his own youth and the current state of our natural environment through his art. The urban community and modern abstraction are tied together in his one-of-a-kind mixed-media collages. He enjoys blending the two concepts because at face value, they have very little in common. Berkowitz likes to take on the challenge and see how he can bring the two worlds together.
“There’s something great that happens when you combine two things that contrast so strongly,” Berkowitz explains. “They start to build a chemistry if you find out how to combine them correctly and then beautiful things can really start to happen.”
The places David remembers his youth still inspire him. The ethereal landscape of his memory, such as hazy banks, traveling up the legendary river, shacks on the floodplain, and the barns where he felt safe as a youngster. The hen houses where he talked with chickens as a young boy are also included in his distinctive paintings. These things remind Berkowitz of where he comes from and he gets the chance to immortalize them through his artwork.
“I love to look back and use that to move forward,” Burkowitz says. “The past should inform and influence the future in all aspects in my opinion, including art.”
The farmland is something David Berkowitz Chicago is always surveying for inspiration. He grew up in these vast landscapes. Because of this, the plans and foliage appear in his works. Because of the open fields he grew up in, wild horses are often featured in his works. The wild horses symbolize something spiritual for him and they have become a hallmark of his work.
David Berkowitz Chicago paints the blissful moments in life. Whether he uses pastels or oil, the pieces that are produced are surreal. He takes everyday life and turns the landscape into something triumphant.
David Berkowitz Chicago creates a connection between pop-culture and grandeur. In the last few decades, he participated in more than three group exhibitions across Europe, North America, and Canada. Having about forty independent showings.
In the beginning, David Berkowitz Chicago’s paintings were not as popular. Now, his pieces are quite expensive, and sadly, not everyone can afford to have them in their personal spaces. He wishes that they were somehow more easily obtainable.
David Berkowitz Chicago wants to paint for his whole life. It keeps him going and allows him to harness his creativity and love for his past into one passion. Hopes to never lose that passion and continue painting, allowing him to have a time capsule of his life and favorite memories.
