Father, Daughter Exhibit at the Arsenal Center for the Arts

ArsenalARTS presents Bertman & Bertman, an interactive exhibition centered on movement featuring father and daughter Richard Bertman and Louisa Bertman. Richard takes a literal approach to movement, creating motorized kinetic sculptures that come to life. Louisa, a modern dancer turned illustrator, understands the aesthetic quality of movement and utilizes it through the components of her dynamic ink wash portraits. Says Bertman, the father, “Movement generates interest by altering relationships between elements thus subtly opening up new ways of seeing.”

The show is appropriate for children, and encourages their participation. A reception, open to the public, will be held on Feb. 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The exhibition runs Jan. 19 through April 21, 2012. The galleries are located at 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, and are open Tuesday through Sunday noon – 6 p.m.

Richard J. Bertman, FAIA, is an architect and sculptor living in Newton. He grew up in Brookline and holds undergraduate degrees from Harvard University and MIT, with a Master of Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley. Richard is a founding Principal of CBT, a firm whose work graces the skyline and streetscapes of Boston with such landmarks as 111 Huntington Avenue, Atlantic Wharf, and 200 Newbury Street. He has been the force behind prominent restorations and renovations of historic buildings throughout the Northeast. Richard was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Boston Society of Architects. He is also known for producing a radical series of three-dimensional mechanical sculptures, meshing together gears, pulleys, switches and wheels with wire and fabric to forge colorful moving creations. The Bertmans have exhibited their work before at Boston Children’s Museum and at University Place in Cambridge, through the Cambridge Art Association.

Louisa Bertman is an illustrator living in Cambridge. She is known for her "untraditional portraitures of celebrities and personalities.” A Newton native who attended high school at The Cambridge School of Weston, she went to NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and was a professional modern dancer in New York City. While dancing, she attended Parsons The New School for Design to focus on illustration and animation. Louisa has worked for GQ, The Village Voice, and The Los Angeles Times, and has been commissioned for cast portraitures by Broadway producers of “American Idiot” and “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.”

The Arsenal Center for the Arts is a vibrant multidisciplinary venue that houses the 350-seat Charles Mosesian Theater and a 90-seat Black Box theater, as well as gallery exhibits and installations, classrooms for children and adult workshops, artist studios, a fine arts and crafts retail shop, and three resident companies (New Repertory Theatre, Watertown Children’s Theatre & The Quilters’ Connection). Take a class; attend a performance; be inspired in this unique architectural landmark. For more information, visit www.arsenalarts.org or call 617-923-0100.