David Gerstein - Alegro - Israeli Art

For the back side of the sculpture please see the bottom of the page.

size: height 18.9' (48 cm)

year: 2006

Technique: Hand Painted Wood Cutout

Limited Edition : 275

Type: Free Standing

David Gerstein's whimsical, 3-dimensional hand painted sculptures catch the eye and engage the heart, humorously delighting the child in all of us. His shiny, sensual colors celebrate life and the forces of good in the world.

Gerstein was born in Jerusalem in 1944. He studied at the Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem, Beaux Arts, Paris, Art Students League, New York and St. Martin's, London.

His work is part of the permanent indoor and outdoor collections of the Israel Museum, Haifa Museum, Tefen Open Museum, The Science Museum in Jerusalem, Herzeliya Museum and Hebrew University.

Gerstein has also installed large public works of art in Jerusalem, Ramat Hasharon, Lod and Ancient Avdat. In spring 1999, Gerstein was selected to exhibit in Washington, DC at the National Jewish Museum's exhibition 'Israel at 50.'

As a child, David Gerstein had no toys. 'My parents were not aware enough to provide me with toys,' he says, and admits that together with his twin brother, he had to devise them from anything that came to hand.. to invent a world for himself. He would cut people and cars out of cardboard and paint windows, wheels and doors onto them. He never gave up his warm relationship and deep involvement with the images he creates.

'For me art is something simple and basic, like bread and water and air. I also think of my works as fruit that the tree has sprouted. I don't have to invent anything or rack my brain on how to process a grandiose idea: things simply grow by themselves. They flow when I am driving, talking, and in the morning before I get out of bed. The shapes and colors in my work are an enticement to communicate. Whoever is tempted to eat from the fruit will discover that it also contains vitamins.'

Sculpture back side