Pisces-Aquarius
1997Two signs, two temperaments, drawn in 1997 when Bert lived between the precision of the laboratory and the freedom of the page. Water and air meet in soft pencil — a quiet portrait of the opposites he carried within himself.
Works on paper · The archive
Drawings
Intimate narratives in pencil, colour pencil, pen and ink. Twelve drawings from Bert’s original artist archive.
The Four Elements
2008Earth, water, air and fire, gathered by a scientist who never stopped marvelling at the world. Every line is patient and loving, as if Bert wanted to hold the whole universe in a single sheet of paper.
Tied Hands, Scattered Books
2006Hands that cannot reach, books that cannot be gathered. For a man born into a family that survived the Holocaust, knowledge and freedom were never taken for granted. A small drawing that carries a long memory.
Aso and Anansi
2007Anansi the trickster spider and his clever wife Aso, from the West African tales Bert loved. Drawn in pen and ink with his trademark wit, it celebrates the cunning of the small against the mighty.
Friends
2020Bert was remembered for his friendships as much as his art. Drawn in 2020, in a year of distance, these figures lean towards each other with unguarded warmth — a gift of companionship made visible.
Suspended
2001A figure held between falling and flying. In fine pen and ink, Bert captured that tender moment of uncertainty we all know — and made it beautiful.
Pious Jester
2002Half prayer, half laughter. Bert’s jester bows with folded hands and a sparkle in his eye — the perfect self-portrait of a man who took life seriously and himself never too seriously.
Cerberus Handled
2022The three-headed guardian of the underworld, tamed and led on a leash. Drawn in 2022, it is Bert’s mischievous answer to fear: face it, smile at it, and walk it home.
Forever
2024One of the very last drawings Bert made, in 2024. Its title now reads as a promise. The world he imagined does not end with him — it waits on paper, for whoever chooses to keep it.
St. Eustache
2012The saint who saw a cross between a stag’s antlers and was changed forever. Bert’s drawing honours that moment of sudden wonder — the same wonder that runs through all his work.
Stolen Sketches
2004Fragments caught on the move, playful and secret, as if Bert were sharing a page from his private notebook. Intimate, spontaneous, and impossible to repeat.
Celestial Tango
2016Two figures dance among the stars, light as breath. Drawn in 2016, it is pure Bert: colour, tenderness and joy, spinning in a sky of his own making.