David Gerstein turns 80 | 2024 FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE

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Tel Aviv/Kitzbuehel/Nuernberg 03.02.2024

The isralian artist David Gerstein celebrates his 80th birthday in 2024. FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE with locations in Kitzbühel/Austria and Nuremberg/Germany congratulates him wholeheartedly on this occasion.

David Gerstein was born in Jerusalem (Israel) in November 1944. He lives and works near Tel Aviv. Gerstein is an established and internationally renowned artist. His works of art can be found in numerous museums worldwide. In recent years, many cities have purchased monumental outdoor sculptures for parks or gardens, such as Singapore with the over 4 meter high sculpture "Momentum".
Trained on several continents (Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Art Student League in New York and St Martin's School of Art in London), David Gerstein has developed a hybrid practice and aesthetic over the course of his 50-year career; at the intersection of Pop Art, Minimalism and Optical Art, reflecting this pluralistic and cosmopolitan dimension: a vibrant creation.
His approach is characterized by the cutting out of shapes and figures; an approach that he associates with his childhood and youth, when he helped his father in his father's leather tailoring business. Equally central is the color, which becomes increasingly bold and pop and gives the works movement. These wall sculptures, mostly cut out of aluminum and consisting of several layers, are reminiscent of the cutouts and steelcuts of his artist colleagues Tom Wesselmann or Alex Katz.
David Gerstein cuts out and paints steel and aluminum to embed his figures and scenes in three-dimensional structures and wall designs that are both unchanging and pulsating. The "pictures" and compositions he creates are taken from the world of childhood, everyday life, family, sport, music, city life, the animal and plant world. The various layers are mounted on the wall at intervals of around 5 cm, allowing views from different perspectives. Similar to Alex Katz's cutouts, which can be purchased at FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE, they cast shadows and graphic patterns on the wall and thus merge with the space in which they are exhibited.
David Gerstein's monumental works in public space include his sculptures for the Hsinchu Stadium in Taiwan (2002); his exhibitions at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1985, 1999 and 2003); his Presence-Present project for the Jerusalem Biennale of Jewish Contemporary Art (2015); or more recently (2017) his sculptures for the National Park in Guizhou Province, China. His works have also been exhibited at the Ramat-Gan Museum, the Performing Arts Center in Tel Aviv, the Ashod Museum of Art, the MoBY (Museums of Bat Yam), the Haifa Museum of Contemporary Art.
In 1970, David Gerstein worked for ten years with figurative art in painting.
Then he tried to find another way to express his ideas, which was something more personal. His choice was to get as close as possible to sculpture while maintaining his identity as a painter. The trigger for the change from painting to wall sculpture was the artist's visit to the retrospective of Franck Stella at the MOMA in New York in 1987. He understood the importance of sculpture, movement, volumes and reliefs. From then on, he decided on a new artistic direction, the one that would make him famous and successful worldwide: Wall sculpture.
Countless shows and exhibitions by David Gerstein have followed all over the world to this day. Naturally accompanied by awards and prizes all over the world. Like many artists, David Gerstein is still active today. He now lives and works near Tel Aviv in Israel, as does the artist Orit Fuchs, who is represented internationally by gallery owner Frank Fluegel.
Since then, David Gerstein's artworks have experienced a solid price development. Due to the large number of museums and collections that have bought his artworks over the years, they have always remained stable in value.
"I am a painter by nature. Even though I create works that come close to sculpture, I think of them as paintings," says David Gerstein in an interview in 2018.

At first he carved from wood, but in the early 1980s, when laser technology became widespread, he used steel. From then on, this was a revolution in his work. He eventually succeeded in creating his wall sculptures in metal, which are now his trademark. David Gerstein manages to create shadow play and superimpositions with the material and surprise the collector!
The wall sculptures are created from a preliminary drawing. This drawing is processed by computer so that the metal can be cut out with a laser. All sculptures are painted by hand with car body paint, which is why they look so shiny. This perfect preservation is one of the reasons why David Gerstein's artworks retain their value so well. Unlike prints on paper, they are insensitive and not subject to natural ageing.
Now in 2024, when the artist David Gerstein is celebrating his 80th birthday, he says: "The older I get, the younger the colors become. I want to convey a philosophy of making pictures happier, more colorful and more cheerful."

FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE, with locations in Nuremberg and Kitzbuehel, has focused on high-quality originals of pop art, street art and contemporary art for over twenty years.
The art collector will find original artworks, prints and unique pieces by hip and up-and-coming artists such as Adam Handler, Katherine Bernhardt, Sol Felpeto, Jon Burgerman, Alex Katz, David Shrigley, Kenny Scharf, Hunt Slonem, Orit Fuchs, Nathan Paddison, Fanny Brodar and Julian Opie at fair market prices. 
Of course, editions and paintings by highly sought-after and valuable artists such as Andy Warhol, Mel Ramos, Roy Lichtenstein, Harland Miller, Tom Wesselmann, Sean Scully, Gerhard Richter, Ross Bleckner, Allen Jones, Thomas Ruff and Mel Bochner are also on sale. The artists David Gerstein, Peter Doig, Jeff Koons, Tracey Emin, Raqib Shaw, Derrick Adams and Robert Longo, who are popular with collectors worldwide, are also represented in the portfolio of the internationally renowned gallery.
The rapidly growing street art segment is perfectly complemented by successful artists such as Mr. Brainwash (Thierry Guetta), XOOOOX, Punk Me Tender, BAMBI, Fringe the Artist, Max Mavior and John Crash Matos.
Of course, the owner-managed gallery also offers design objects, paintings and vintage furniture by Maurizio Cattelan, Paul Smith, Richard Orlinski, Philippe Starck and Pierre Jeanerette.
Exhibitions are held at regular intervals in the centrally located gallery spaces in Nuremberg and Kitzbuehel. Collectors can buy works of art around the clock in the unique online store. International trade fair participations and solo shows round off the program of the renowned gallery.
Many of the artworks on offer can be purchased immediately by the collector during a visit to the gallery, as they are in stock. Due to the high demand for some artists, prices are expected to rise. Works can rise in price (this development in value is very desirable for investors) and old prices can lose their validity.

FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE
Obere Woerthstrasse 12
90403 Nuremberg

Josef-Pirchl-Str. 6
6370 Kitzbuehel
AUSTRIA

https://www.frankfluegel.com