ROBERT PERLESS

Kinetic, abstract sculpture in metal


 

ROBERT PERLESS

Biography

Robert Perless was born Brooklyn, New York in 1938, and grew up across the street from the water, which would have a profound influence on his life and his art. He studied Art and Engineering at the University of Miami in Florida.

His wind-driven sculptures began in the early 1970s after he and his wife took a two-year sabbatical, sailing their boat from the Canadian maritime provinces down through the Caribbean. In 1978 he began the construction of their sprawling, light-filled Greenwich, CT residence, a huge aluminum, steel and glass structure to which his state-of-the-art studio is attached.

A union of art, science, and engineering, Perless’ kinetic sculptures reveal and transform energy from the natural world. Perless acknowledges the influence of Constructivism on his work and is also often associated with the Kinetic art movement. He is best known for strikingly grand and graceful large-scale sculptures made from industrial materials.

He has created public artworks for municipalities, post-secondary educational institutions as well as private sector commissioned art installations for numerous corporations.

robert perless working.jpg
robert perless.jpg
 

 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2017 deCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA
2015 Public Sculpture, White Plains, NY
2012 Sculptors Guild, Saks Fifth Avenue, New York
2008 “In-Site” Governor’s Island, NY
2006 “Robert Perless: Public Visions” One-Man Show, Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT
2006 “Sculpture in the Park,” White Plains, NY
2004 Art Omi International Arts Center, Omi, New York
2003 Sculpture Now, Stockbridge, MA
2001 “Space 2001” Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
2000 “12X12X12” Greenwich Art Society
1997 Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT (Also 1994, 1987, 1978.)
1996 Andre Emmerich’s Top Gallant Farm Sculpture Garden, Quaker Hill, NY (from 1991)
1995 “Environmental Sculptures” Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1992 Paris-New York-Kent Gallery, Kent, CT
1989 “Connecticut Biennial” Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
1980 Taft Museum, Cincinnati, OH
1976 Bonino Gallery, One-Man Show, New York
1975 Forum Gallery, New York
1972 Bernard Danenberg Gallery, One-Man Show, New York
1970 “Light, Motion, & Sound,” Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
1970 “Eclectra ‘70” Pepsico, New York
1970 Whitney Museum, New York
1969 Galerie Simonne Stern, One-Man Show, New Orleans
1968 Bodley Gallery, One-Man Show, New York
 

 

CORPORATE COMMISSIONS

Avon Corporation, New York
Boone County National Bank, Columbia, MO
Bristol-Myers Squibb, New Brunswick, NJ
Pierre Cardin, Paris
Coates Building, 555 Madison Avenue, New York
Dart Industries, Los Angeles
Deloitte & Touche, Wilton, CT
Eastern Airlines, Boston, MA
First Federal Savings & Loan, Fort Meyers, Florida
Fuji Film Building, Elmsford, New York
Guggenheim International
Lake Forest Mall, Gaithersburg, MD
Mobil Oil, Fairfax, VA
National Chemsearch, Irving, TX
One Exchange Plaza, New York
Ottawa Silica Company, Public Park, Ottawa, IL
Space Center Tysons, Tysons Corners, VA
Stamford Town Center, Stamford, CT
Xerox International Center, Washington, D.C.
 

 

PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Bucknell University, Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburgh, PA
City of Corpus Christi, TX
City of Palm Desert, Civic Center, Palm Desert, CA
City of Stamford, K.T. Murphy Media Center, Stamford, CT
City of Syracuse, Syracuse Hancock International Airport, Syracuse, NY
Howell Cheney Technical High School, Manchester, CT
University of Connecticut, Castleman Engineering Building, Storrs, CT
Miami University, Oxford, OH
Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, N.Y.U. Medical Center
Town of Port Chester, Public Park, Port Chester, NY
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
Salt Lake City Community College, Salt Lake City
Utah Valley State College, Wasatch Campus, Heber City, UT
 

 

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Bucknell University, Weis Center for the Performing Arts, Lewisburgh, PA
City of Corpus Christi, TX
City of Palm Desert, Civic Center, Palm Desert, CA
City of Stamford, K.T. Murphy Media Center, Stamford, CT
City of Syracuse, Syracuse Hancock International Airport, Syracuse, NY
Howell Cheney Technical High School, Manchester, CT
University of Connecticut, Castleman Engineering Building, Storrs, CT
Miami University, Oxford, OH
Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, N.Y.U. Medical Center
Town of Port Chester, Public Park, Port Chester, NY
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
Salt Lake City Community College, Salt Lake City
Utah Valley State College, Wasatch Campus, Heber City, UT
 

 

EDUCATION

Cheshire Academy
University of Miami, Miami, FL