Terry Berkowitz
artist
nyc
If there is a problem that needs to be solved; if there something that I need to understand more clearly; if there is something that is broken and needs fixing… these are the things that attract me and permeate my work. I look between the lines to find connections. I look for glue to put the broken pieces back together.
My work focuses on social and political issues. My response to these questions takes form after a period of research and reflection; and I use whatever means or media seem to work ranging from installation to single-channel video, from audio objects to photography.
My professional career began with public works in urbanscapes and short films reflecting on sociological issues. Working principally with the installation format, I utilize whatever media will best serve the content of the work. blending sculptural elements, audio, slide projections, film projections, photography and/or video. Dealing with social and political problems that were, for the most part, invisible at the time, I was a pioneer in working with social injustice of all types. The content of my works has included subjects as varied as rape and its resonances in women’s lives, forced expulsions, the lives of Palestinians under occupation, the reality of life in refugee camps in Western Sahara, the Inquisition, terrorism, and identity. The works often include interviews as a main component. More recently, I have been exploring photographic installation and producing single-channel videos.
Recently my work was included in the 1st Biennial of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. I am currently working on projects on the Western Sahara in the refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria and with the women shellfish harvesters in the Costa da Morte in Galicia, Spain (with Francesc Torres).
Solo exhibitions include the Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; the Joseloff Gallery, Hartford Art School, Connecticut; Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University; The Alternative Museum, NYC; PS1in Long Island City; 112 Green Street Workshop, NYC among others. I have received grants from the NEA, CAPS, NYFA, NYSCA, and the Jerome Foundation.
In 1996, I was granted a Fulbright Scholarship.