Joel Perlman (b. 1943)

PALE RIDER, 1992
Steel
88 1/4 x 36 x 20 inches

PALE HORSE, 1992
Steel
87 1/4 x 36 x 20 inches

Extended Loan, Nassau County Museum of Art

Throughout a prolific and productive career that has spanned over thirty years, New York sculptor Joel Perlman has produced large-scale abstract metal works that juxtapose vast densities against airy contours. His work explores the concept of weight, monumentality and negative space, intertwining linear forms that allude to modern machinery and vivacious energy. Often working without predesigned models, Perlman cuts and arranges shapes to manipulate and adjoin the media with which he works, creating jagged-edged artworks such as PALE HORSE and PALE RIDER, on display here. Greatly inspired by the works of Russian Constructivist Alexander Rodchenko and Romanian Modernist Constantin Brâncuși, Perlman glorifies geometric figures and vast open spaces, tying his process closely to the materials and construction that are involved in the creation of his sculptures.

Alex C. Maccaro
Assistant Curator, Nassau County Museum of Art