American artist Wallace Berman had an eclectic and radical repertoire of artistic expression. Heavily influenced by jazz music, Beat poetry, and postwar counterculture, he developed an experimental body of work that pushed the boundaries between collage, photography, text, and film. Connecting his heritage to his artistic practice, Berman infused Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, into his works, frequently incorporating Hebrew script into collage. This technique can be found in some of his most well-known works, including a series of collages made using Verifax printers. In these works, Berman juxtaposed political figures, musicians, and celebrities with everyday objects, religious iconography, poetry, Hebrew script, and much more. The boundaries of Berman’s practice were limitless.

–Julia Grasso Bergman, from the Glenstone Field Guide