Collaboratives

THE COLLABORATIVE WORKS came about after JB and Rita Shapiro had worked together in the same studio. Even though both wind up with very different looking paintings, one being a non-objective color-field artist and the other a supreme realist, both artists attack their craft in completely the same way. One is simply cosmic while the other is more quantum. The series was the brainchild of Ms. Berkow. She began orchestrating the first ones in 2004. Beginning with a concept and a clear idea of what the final product would look like, she would either execute the first part of the collaborative herself or write a section, as it were, for Rita’s part of the composition. Sometimes she would commandeer existing Shapiro originals, ones that were especially evocative to her imagination, and simply paint a section to go with them. The beauty of their style of collaboration is that they keep their work segregated. This helps to keep their individuality intact while at the same time creating something wholly different and unique by juxtaposing together. It allows the viewer to appreciate each through brand new eyes. They continue to collaborate from time to time. JB is hoping to make these works the cornerstone of a traveling museum tour she is attempting to organize titled: ”Realism: A Stringing Together of Abstractions.”
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