Chris Berti

Berti’s recent work consists of human and animal figures carved from found wooden objects and old bricks.  Carving allows him to retain part of an iconic form while emphasizing the rendered image on the top portion.  On a functional level, the uncarved portion serves as a pedestal to elevate the importance of the figure; on a conceptual level the uncarved portion’s nostalgic shape adds to the ethos of the figure. The figures, often in meditative, inward, and isolated poses, synthesize with the balanced form on which they stand or rest. The warm, aged surface of the wood and brick suggest time and memory.

Chris Berti earned his BFA from Alfred University in Alfred, New York, and his MFA in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. He inherited a set of stone-carving tools from his grandfather, a stonemason and bricklayer in New York City, a number of years after graduation. These tools inspired Berti to carve objects from limestone and salvaged brick. He patiently removes pieces until the final forms and colors "reveal themselves." Berti compares this method to the work of an archaeologist uncovering artifacts and shards buried in the ground. Regardless of his medium, Berti always aims to instill the "spirit of living things" into his creations.