About the Artist
Matt Bertles is a contemporary artist based in Williamstown, Massachusetts, known for a style that blends abstract expressionism with elements of whimsical, found-object sculpture.
His work typically falls into two distinct categories:
1. Mixed-Media Painting
On canvas, Bertles creates vibrant, layered compositions. His paintings often feature:
• Gestural Brushwork: He frequently uses acrylics, oil crayons, and watercolors to create
"flurries" of color.
Abstract Narratives: His work is often described as capturing "tiny intimate moments." A notable piece, The Answer You Seek (2022), showcases his tendency toward bold, saturated colors and textured surfaces that invite the viewer to find their own meaning in the abstraction.
Evolving Series: Much of his current output belongs to his "Landscape Series," which represents a shift in his style following the loss of his studio in 2014. These works are often seen as more "invigorating" and spontaneous than his earlier, pre-2014 paintings.
2. "Cycle-Related" Sculpture Bertles is also recognized for his unique sculptural work that repurposes mechanical
and sporting goods into art:
• Golf Ball Entities: One of his most recognizable series involves transforming golf balls into "mysterious and joyful" creatures by adding legs and features made from bicycle
spokes and rims.
• Materiality: By using bicycle rims as "sculptural instruments," he explores the intersection of rigid, industrial materials and
organic, playful forms.
Contact the Artist
The Landscape Series
We moved to the Berkshires almost a decade ago after our house and studio burned to the ground. This series of landscapes canvases came from sitting in our garden, listening to the birds and watching trees dance in heavy winds.
(2019) East Mountain 30” x 40” Acrylic on Canvas
“I have been working with bicycle rims as sculptural instruments for years, which has left me with an incredible amount of unused spokes. Last year I started to find random golf balls around our farm and I discovered that the right mix of spokes and balls, with some paint and accoutrements, creates some interesting possibilities. What I have really come to understand is that the golf balls are systematically designed and created for a single use, but in adding legs and other cycle related features, they magically transform into something more, something different, something a little mysterious and joyful.”
-Matt Bertles
