Chris Berti brings a special kind of reverence to his sculpture of animals and everyday objects. Organic in their reflection of the natural world, each form is sculpted with honesty and care. Berti’s stone sculpture is inviting to the touch and embodies an overall sense of calm and a living spirit. The artist's recent carvings transform found, ceramic drainage tiles from the turn of the century, antique bricks, and found beaver-cut logs into completely new life-forms.
"In nature, the stone evolves and changes, hit by rain and sun, it fades and erodes. It may be covered or things may be added. In a sense, I speed up the process and uncover my ideas as natural forces uncover qualities of the rock through time and energy." -Chris Berti
Selected Public Collections
Brooks Museum, Millikin University, Decatur, IL; Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI; Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL; Lafayette Museum of Art, Lafayette, IN; Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC; Montreal Museum of Art, Montreal, Quebec; National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts; South Bend Art Museum, South Bend, IN; Southern Illinois University Museum, Carbondale, IL; Charles A. Wustum Museum of Art, Racine, WI
BACK WATER, Carved Beaver-Cut Log, 3 x 17 x 5"
PARCELS, 5 Carved Antique Paver Bricks, 12 x 7 x 9"
DRIVER, Oil and Graphite on Carved Juniper, 14" long
POLYPHEMUS, Carved Black Marble, 1 x 5 x 4 1/2"
LONG FINCH and RAINBOW FINCH, Carved Antique Bricks, 8 x 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" each
SACRED TEXT, Carved Drainage Tile, 7 x 10 1/2 x 2"
STOMACH, Oil and Graphite on Carved Sycamore, 9 x 13 x 7"
SEEK, Carved Drainage Tile, 18 x 10 x 2"
OLD TOWN, Carved Beaver-Cut Log with Pigment, 29 x 3 x 3"
HEART, Oil and Graphite on Carved Sycamore, 13 x 13 x 10"
GARAGE, Carved Red Granite, 5 x 13 1/2 x 5 1/2"
GREY MITTEN, Carved Drainage Tile, 8 x 5 x 1"
BREAD DISH, Carved Drainage Tile, 5 x 22 x 3"
HORSE FLY and RED CAT
Carved Antique Bricks, 8" long, each
STANDING SMOOTH, Carved Limestone, 17 x 12 x 4"
DOUBLE TEXT, Carved Drainage Tile, 2 @ 11 1/2 x 19 x 3" each
William Nichols
