Ira Pearlstein
Ira Pearlstein, b. 1951, was conceived in the Bronx, and grew up in Valley Stream, Long Island. He holds a BA and MA in American History, as well as degree in law. Since 1980, he has practiced law at a labor union and then at his kitchen table. After visiting an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art of Picasso sculptures just over three years ago Pearlstein was particularly captivated by his brilliant use of found objects. He returned to that show twice more and that spring began to bring home street and dump-finds, he haunted local salvage yards for materials, and then began to assemble pieces from of his growing inventory.
Ira Pearlstein’s creates found object sculptures. “A dump is a treasure trove for someone like me”, the artist reveals as his haul slowly expands. He finds his supplies in the streets and on the sidewalks, at a local salvage yard, and at low tide at either end of Flatbush Avenue, or in the city’s waterways. The often time worn, rusty materials are, in the artists eyes, waiting to be put together, taken apart and put together again in different configurations. The works blur the line between representation and abstraction. Pearlstein discloses, ”I’m excited to be re-using this mélange of New York’s cast-offs to create works which please me as I hope they do others. This is the extent of my eco/environmental pitch.”
In the summer of 2017, Pearlstein has his first exhibition at the Brooklyn Workshop Gallery in Gowanus.
Instagram: @LOWTIDEART
Artwork Available on Artsy