b. 1938
Robert Perless was born Brooklyn, New York in 1938. He studied Art and Engineering at the University of Miami in Florida. After graduating, he took a temporary summer job on a farm in Iowa where he had a crash course in welding farm tools and soon after, an artistic epiphany, realizing his career would be that of Constructivist sculptor. Growing up near the ocean, he developed nautical inclinations and an affinity for the winds which constantly blow along the water. His wind-driven sculptures began in early 1970 after he and his wife Ellen took a two-year sabbatical, sailing their boat from the Canadian provinces to the Caribbean. In 1978 they collaborated on the construction of their sprawling, light-filled Greenwich, CT residence, a huge aluminium, steel and glass structure to which his state-of-the-art studio is attached. His massive works outgrew several New York studio spaces and the studio he built in Greenwich freed him from the constraints and problems of working as a large-scale sculpture in New York City.
Dutch kinetic artist Theo Jansen asserted that “Kinetic art was created by artists who pushed the boundaries of traditional, static art forms to introduce visual experiences that would engage the audience and profoundly change the course of modern art." Robert Perless is part of the Kinetic Art movement. He has created kinetic structures as public artworks for municipalities, post-secondary educational institutions as well as private sector commissioned art installations for various corporations. Robert Perless' works were discussed at the first International Kinetic Art Symposium February 9, 2013 in the presentation on the link between Kinetic Art and the generation of Electricity from the wind. His works were also discussed during the Breaking The Barriers panel discussion on how his 40 years of Kinetic Art works lead to the development of small wind turbines for use in urban environments. Robert Perless, has been a featured artist of the Sculptors Guildshowcasing his creative ability.
Perless is unique among artists producing large-scale public works because of his hands-on approach to his creation and not turning to fabricators to create portions of his work. His work speaks of the unseen energies that surround us and the fragility of our planet.
While having a humanistic appeal, Perless's work is not about the human form but about intelligent aerodynamic design, sleek abstract form and the energy, light and motion that surround us. His sculptures are strikingly grand in scale while retaining the grace and balance that Perless's design, computer analysis and engineering abilities are able to achieve. Ingenuity, precision and much physical effort precede the completion of his dynamic large scale works. The works are created in his large Greenwich studio adjacent to his home, using state of the art equipment and industrial materials. The streamlined works which are razor sharp in appearance, are kinetic pieces calibrated to shift and move in the breeze. His works advance the vision of early 20th-century modern sculptors, including the Russian Constructivists, the Italian Futurists, and European and American masters who were enamored with the use of new materials and the concept of motion and speed in art and life.
EDUCATION:
University of Miami, Miami, Florida
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
Sculptors Guild, Saks Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 2012
In-Site Governor’s Island, NY, 2008
Robert Perless: Public Visions One-Man Show, Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT, 2006
Sculpture in the Park, White Plains, NY, 2006
Art Omi International Arts Center, Omi, New York, 2004
Sculpture Now, Stockbridge , MS, 2003
Space 2001, Bruce Museum , Greenwich, CT, 2001
Greenwich Art Society, 2000
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT, 1997’ 94’ 87’ 78’
Environmental Sculptures, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea, 1995
Andre Emmerich’s Top Gallant Farm Sculpture Garden, Quaker Hill, NY, 1991-1996
Paris-New York-Kent Gallery, Kent, CT, 1992, 1992
Connecticut Biennial Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT, 1989
Taft Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1980
Bonino Gallery, One-Man Show, New York, NY, 1976
Forum Gallery, New York, NY, 1975
Bernard Danenberg Gallery, One-Man Show, New York, NY, 1972
Light, Motion, & Sound,Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, 1970
Eclectra ‘70 Pepsico, New York, NY, 1970
Whitney Museum, New York, NY, 1970
Galerie Simonne Stern, One-Man Show, New Orleans, LA, 1969
Bodley Gallery, One-Man Show, New York, NY, 1968
PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS:
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Bucknell University, Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburgh, Pennsylvania
City of Corpus Christi, Texas
City of Palm Desert, Civic Center, Palm Desert, California
City of Stamford, K.T. Murphy Media Center, Stamford, Connecticut
City of Syracuse, Syracuse Hancock International Airport, Syracuse, New York
Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism:
Howell Cheney Technical High School, Manchester, Connecticut
University of Connecticut, Castleman Engineering Building, Storrs, Connecticut
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida
Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, N.Y.U. Medical Center
Town of Port Chester, Public Park, Port Chester, New York
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Utah Arts Council:
Salt Lake City Community College, Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah Valley State College, Wasatch Campus, Heber City, Utah
SELECTED COLLECTIONS:
The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut,
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia
Oklahoma Art Center, University of Oklahoma,
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Stamford, Connecticut
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City
William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, Connecticut
