Artist: Larry Berko

Title: "Enjoy, thank you" 

Measurements: 45.5x36"

Medium: oil on canvas

Artist Statement: My paintings are a combination of caprice and control. Facture is important. Random marks, sloshed paint, or a scratched surface can be as significant as the carefully rendered. The scribble and the refined.

I often work with images drawn from the ocean community of my home in Maui. The narrative I have created is left to the viewer’s interpretation. The viewer should see the paint as much as the image.

Artist Bio: Larry Berko was born and raised in New Jersey. At a young age Berko developed a deep love for the sea and was an avid surfer. 

Berko received his BFA in painting from Washington University, Saint Louis, MO and concurrently studied with a university sponsored program in San Miguel de Alllende, Mexico. Berko earned his MFA from Rutgers University, New Jersey. He taught design and figure drawing at Douglas College, New Jersey.

After graduation, Berko moved to southern California and worked as a structural and graphic designer, then an Art Director for two years before starting his own company, Sunset Design Associates.

"In college we all had the idea that we were not going to do commercial work. But when I fell into this whole graphics thing, I found I enjoyed it. It was nice to work for myself."

In 2006, Berko moved to Maui, Hawaii where he and his wife Kari Von Wening (fellow professional artist) spent several years designing and building their dream home / studio in Lahaina. Berko's new home / studio overlooks the renowned Launiupoko Beach and Guard Rails surf spots. When the surf's good, Berko and his daughter spend hours surfing and enjoying the Maui lifestyle.