bert-kai9
Every fisherman has a story about losing the “big one.” Otton had 7 years worth of those stories. He had yet to win a tour contest in his 7 year residency until recently. BERT’s installation in Solana Beach shows Otton finally catching the big one represented by the massive trophy Otton received during the Rip Cur Pro Portugal award ceremony. Otton points to the sky with a single finger as a reference to his first win, as well as a dedication to his passed grandfather whom Otton dedicated his win to. Art: BERT
BERT is short for Bertlemann. I’m an (anonymous) surf street artist that uses the ASP World Championship Tour and other surf related trends as inspiration for my visual surf culture commentary.
My first piece, titled “Slater Hater,” is in San Clemente, California. It depicted Joel Parkinson giving Kelly Slater the finger while playing tug-of-war over the Snapper Rocks trophy. Since then, I’ve used urban walls up and down the southern California coast as my canvas: Malibu, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Pacific Beach, as well as Kauai and Oahu.
On December 13th, from 6-10 pm, I’m showcasing my hand-painted designs on canvas for the first time at 3rd Stone Surf Shop and Gallery located at the historic Waialua Sugar Mill on the North Shore of Oahu. Steve Sherman’s photography will be in included in the show.