artcosurf Company Overview
artcosurf is the evolutionary destiny for an artist and avid surfer -- Clark Hipolito -- who launched a company and a brand that caters to anyone who has ever loved fine art and the high-energy lifestyle associated with the surfing culture.
Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, artcosurf began with three friends: Clark, fellow artist Tony Ramsi, and surfboard shaper Brian Wynn (of Wynn Surfboards in New Jersey). Together, they creating a collection of hand-shaped, hand-painted, wood-grain, one-of-a-kind surfboards. Brian shaped the boards and Clark and Tony painted them, drawing inspiration from the Polynesian surfing legacy – when all surfboards used to be made of wood – from Asian art, and Clark’s personal passion for vintage Chris-Craft boats. But these unique surfboards weren’t just wall ornaments. They were – and are -- ocean ready. The partners’ first exhibition of these stunning surfboards in Wilmington, NC, sold out and commissions rolled in.
Soon artcosurf expanded to accommodate Clark’s fascination with figurative art, this time on signed, limited-edition surfboards. For the Muse collection, Clark turned to his “muses” – or, as he puts it, “my gorgeous friends who keep me inspired” – who posed for photos that were then printed on rice paper and laminated onto the boards. Stunning and sexy, these surfboards are also ready to ride.
Skateboards and stretch beach cruisers were the next logical introductions from the artcosurf brand, so limited-edition decks and bikes now bear artcosurf’s signature wood-grain, Polynesian/Asian art to offer the sort of elegant ride no skateboarder or cruiser enthusiast has ever had before.
Finally, artcosurf went where many surf-related brands go first: to a clothing line. Only this line is an art driven collection of kick ass t-shirts….retro t-shirts…surfing t-shirts…. novelty t-shirts….and just plain fun t-shirts. Long sleeve and short, 100 percent cotton, for men and women. And every single “tee” has artcosurf’s creativity written all over it.
Surfboards, skateboards, beach bikes, cool clothes – art meets the surfing culture. That’s artcosurf.
About Clark Hipolto (artist)
Born in Connecticut in 1970, Clark Hipolito grew up in southern New Jersey where his love of art and surfing first developed. He attended Seton Hall University to study design and business. While freelancing and completing design internships, he began working at MTV in New York where he sharpened his artistry and design skills. In 1994 he launched his own design firm, The Art Company Inc., based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and began producing a myriad of murals, specialty finish projects, and award-winning commercial interior designs while continuing to create fine art on canvas. His work has been seen on major television show's including HBO's "Sex in the City" WB's "Dawson's Creek" and CW's "One Tree Hill," and in a host of hot-spot venues throughout the Carolinas. It has also been featured in national and international journals and websites including Dutton Direct, Waterfront Homes & Design, Line Up magazine, Eastern Surf News, Global Surf News, Surfer, World Surfer, NC Signature magazine, Genug (a German magazine on luxury living), and Khooligan (a Russian art and lifestyle publication). He launched artcosurf in February of 2008.
Clark is also committed to giving back to the community and the culture that supports him and inspires him. He has donated his time, his paintings and his surfboards and skateboards to charitable causes, including the Surfrider Foundation, SURFAID International, the Land of Plenty skateboard foundation, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a grassroots fundraiser for a home for severely disabled children and adults in Greenville, NC., and numerous charitable endeavors in and around Raleigh, NC.
About Brynn Wynn (shaper)
Established in 1993, Wynn Surfboards began as a dream in a garage in southern New Jersey. Like many first-timers, Brian started shaping boards in his father's workshop. But unlike other hobbyists, he took his calling seriously. So he packed up and moved to Southern California where he could immerse himself in that hotbed of surfboard manufacturing. With an insatiable appetite to learn, he climbed the ladder of several well-known glassing companies and was able to collaborate with both professional surfers and shapers alike. After a decade of working as a glasser/shaper in San Diego, Brian established his own glassing and manufacturing facility on the New Jersey coast. Today Brian's Wynn Surfboards is one of the East Coast's most desirable custom board builders of both small-wave and big-wave design. Of course, building the best board doesn't stop with a good shape, as Brian knows. Superior glassing and fine artwork, combined with quality shaping, produce satisfied customers. Today, Brian attributes much of his success to lessons learned from all the talented people he's worked with in the past. The rest comes from pure determination to produce the best custom boards possible for artcosurf.
