Duality #15 

Editor: We’re looking at Leon Berkowitz’s "Duality #15", made with acrylic paint and ink. It's remarkably simple at first glance—just vertical bands of color—but there’s something calming and meditative about the way the colors blend. What do you see in this piece? Curator: You know, it's funny, the longer I gaze at it, the more it feels like staring into a soul. There’s a certain vulnerability in how those colors bleed into one another, like emotions colliding, merging, and redefining their boundaries. It reminds me of that Rilke quote: “The only journey is the one within.” What journey does it evoke in you, I wonder? Editor: I guess the calmness comes from the colour fields flowing gently together, no harsh edges. A journey…maybe from chaos to order? Or two separate ideas finding common ground? Curator: Yes! Berkowitz, like other color field painters, was exploring the pure essence of color, moving beyond representation into the realm of pure feeling. That pink line slicing through the middle... it's not just a divider, but a bridge, isn't it? It practically vibrates. I feel the constant possibility of two becoming one, and one splitting apart to create duality. Editor: That's beautiful, the pink is electric. I hadn't thought of it as a bridge. But looking closer, it has some very rough edges, so I'm no longer seeing it as simple as I thought originally. Curator: Absolutely. Nothing's ever truly simple, is it? It’s through these contrasts, those slight imperfections, the moments where colours resist complete blending, that the painting finds its true voice. So… has Berkowitz managed to create something from essentially “nothing”? Editor: He has. I came expecting plain, simple color. I'm leaving with the realization it’s not color alone but an emotion-laden experience. Curator: Exactly. Art that takes you to a very specific feeling using minimal resources is truly successful!