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BIO

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     PHILIP  GERSTEIN     pgerst@fas.harvard.edu

Born and raised in Moscow, USSR, Philip Gerstein began exhibiting his work in the 1980’s with the Boston Visual Artists Union, after pursuing a PhD in Art History at Harvard University.  He studied painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Japanese calligraphy with Toshu Ogawa.  
 
Philip has been exhibiting in New York City, Provincetown MA, and extensively in the Boston area, as well as organizing and curating painting and photography shows. His work has been touted in such publications as The Boston Globe,  ArtScope Magazine, and Art New England, and NYC art blogs. Philip is also a published essayist; his online feature "The Art of Philip Gerstein" is published monthly in Scene4 – International Magazine of Arts and Culture, and receives thousands of views every month.
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 Monthly online feature "The Art of Philip Gerstein" in:
Scene4 - International Magazine of Arts and Culture 
 Recent:  ~~  "A Solo in New York: My Interval Paintings"
 Other Examples:  ~~ "Music and Art, Art and Music" , Oct. 2023
                          ~~ "Not So Silent Spring", Mar. 2023
                        ~~ "Abstraction, Reloaded", Jan.2023
                      ~~  May 2022 feature  ("Spring Bouquet of Minimalism")
                     ~~  Feb 2021 feature  ("To Cross the Rubicon")
                     ~~   July 2021 feature  ("Sometimes There Is Bliss")
   GALLERY  REPRESENTATION
LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York NY
Array Contemporary,  Boston MA
    UPCOMING / CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Transcending Time,   LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY,  December 5 - January 4, 2025
   Opening Reception:  Thur Dec. 12, 5:30-8pm
Benefit Art Sale,   School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA
   December 6-8, 2024
The Shape of Color -- 5 Abstract Artists:
Ellen Weider; Francie Lyshak; Gordon Fearey; Jane Yudelman; Philip Gerstein /curator/
Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville MA,  April 4 - 28, 2024
REVIEWED in Cambridge Day!  --> (...The term “love letter” gets thrown around left and right in arts criticism, but it’d be reductive to call this exhibition a love letter to color. ... )   
See also: Installation images (in Scene4 International Magazine) 

                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   SOLO (& 2-Person) EXHIBITIONS  /Selections 2015+/  
 
PHILIP GERSTEIN:  IN THE INTERVAL 
The Painting Center,  New York, NY,  Jan-Feb 2024
A review in Scene4 International Magazine "Long Live the King... of Prussia"
UNFORCED ORDER: The Paintings of Jo Ann Rothschild and Philip Gerstein,   
LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY,  Dec-Jan 2023-24
See also: YouTube Video 
UNCHARTED TERRITORIES: Paintings of Matt Carrano and Philip Gerstein
Off Main Gallery,  Wellfleet MA (Cape Cod), (2023)
 
Sometimes There Is Bliss,  AMP: Art Market Provincetown, Provincetown MA (2021)
The Color of Seasons:  Nature and Abstraction in the Paintings of Carolyn Newberger and Philip Gerstein,
(Expanded 2-person show) Galatea Fine Art, Boston MA.  (Scheduled Apr. 2020 -- cancelled due to Covid-19).

 View/order a 50-page EXHIBITION CATALOG   --Catalog reviewed 

Sometimes There Is Bliss,  Galatea Fine Art, Boston MA  (2018)  --reviewed 

Sacred AsymmetryThe Painting Center, Chelsea, New York, NY  (2017)  --reviewed

Wild at Heart: Works on Paper & Other Adventures,  Galatea Fine Art, Boston MA  (2017)  --reviewed

Recent Paintings Abstract Art Online / Galerie Cerulean   (2016). 

Being There: Abstract Paintings of Philip Gerstein, Andre Zarre Gallery, Chelsea, NY, NY (2015)--reviewed

¡ EXPERIMENT !    Galatea Fine Art, Boston MA   (2015)  --reviewed

                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

    GROUP SHOWS  /Selections  2011+/

2023
HARMONY: Art and Music (@ the Piano Factory)  Piano Craft Gallery, Boston MA -- Sep-Oct
Welcome to the Symbiocene,  ARTI Gallery, Marblehead MA -- Sept (w/S.H.E. - Shared Habitat Earth)
Lemon Sky LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY -- June
Sugar & Spice,  Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville MA -- Apr-May
Totem and Taboo LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY-- Apr
      --reviewed in TUSSLE MAGAZINE  5/3/23 (Stephen Gambello)
Group Shows with S.H.E. (Shared Habitat Earth) -- Mar-Apr
      -- Belmont Gallery of Art, Belmont MA
      -- Quincy Art Association, Quincy MA
(CURATED/EXHIBITED:)  The Empty & the Full,  Array Contemporary online on ARTSY -- Jan-Apr
Abstract Art: Contemporary Approaches,  Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown MA -- Dec-Jan
The Painting Center Benefit (curated)The Painting Center online on ARTSY, New York NY -- Nov-Jan
2022
(CURATED/EXHIBITED:)   Space <--> Color <--> Movement: Lyrical Realism into Poetic Abstraction
     3-person show with Alexandra Rozenman & Jo Ann Rothschild 
     Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville MA --reviewed & reproduced 
INTERSTELLAR -- Between Stars (7th Anniversary Show)  LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY
The Indivisible Spectrum: The Painting Center Invitational --  curated by JoAnne McFarland
     The Painting Center,  (Chelsea) New York, NY
Cosmic Storm  LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY
     --reviewed  in Art511Mag  Mar 2022 ("'Cosmic Storm' at Lichtundfire", by Jonathan Goodman):
     "Philip Gerstein’s abstraction... -- highly sophisticated painting".
Emotional Landscapes  Array Contemporary online on ARTSY
Minimal Force  LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY
Still Friends (Invitational)  Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston MA
Stratosphere: A 6-year Anniversary Exhibition   LICHTUNDFIRE, New York, NY
2021
Drawing Challenge XXIII   Jason McCoy Gallery, NYC   online  Sept 
Group Show  AMP: Art Market Provincetown, Provincetown MA
Thoughts Produce Noise  Landau Gallery by Array Contemporary, Belmont MA
In Full Bloom   LICHTUNDFIRE , New York, NY --
    --reviewed on Piri Halasz' blog "From the Mayor's Doorstep" Aug. 14, 2021
     https://www.pirihalasz.com/blog/posts/39303 
12x12   PAAM  Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown MA
The Passage of Time  Array Contemporary at Moakley Federal Courthouse Gallery, Boston MA
Collective Consciousness    Array Contemporary at Beacon Street Gallery, Brookline MA
Drawing Challenge XXI   Jason McCoy Gallery, NYC   online  May 
Drawing Challenge XX    Jason McCoy Gallery, NYC   online Apr
Drawing Challenge XIX    Jason McCoy Gallery, NYC   online Mar
the world that has been given   Jason McCoy Gallery, New York NY,  on ARTSY
(re)Tell   HallSpace, Boston MA 
Drawing Challenge XVIII   Jason McCoy Gallery, NYC   online  Feb 
Drawing Challenge XVII   Jason McCoy Gallery, NYC   online  Jan
The Future Is Many Colors    Array Contemporary at Moakley Federal Courthouse, Boston MA

2020

Spring Flash! - a Pop-Up Virtual Exhibition,  Equity Gallery, New York, NY
PAAM Show,   Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown MA
Droplets: Hallspace Drawing Project,  HallSpace, Boston MA
(CO-CURATED/EXHIBITED:)  The Future Is Many Colors,  Array Contemporary online

2019

(CURATED/EXHIBITED:)  Sacred Asymmetry - Abstraction Boston/New York, HallSpace, Boston MA. 

      Exhibiting Artists:  Francine Tint, Jo Ann Rothschild, Susan Roth, Marjorie Minkin,

                                   Sarah Hinckley, Philip Gerstein/curator -- reviewed

That’s Cliché, or Not, Drawing Project,   HallSpace, Boston MA

Resist,   Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown MA

2018

Sideshow Nation VI: The Greatest Show on Earth,  Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY --reviewed

PAAM Show,  Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown MA

B4 Peace: Building a Peaceable Community Art Invitational,

      (part of "Prospect 4: New Orleans Art Triennial"), New Orleans Art Center, New Orleans LA

2017

Sideshow Nation V, Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY  -- reviewed 

Inherent Vitality555 Gallery, South Boston, MA  -- reviewed

2016

Invitational 3,  ArtHelix/SHIM, Bushwick, Brooklyn NY

Unusual Politics: The Madness of Reality,  (invitational) The Viridian Artists Gallery, Chelsea, New York, NY

Small Works Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College, New York, NY  (juried by Richard Timperio)

Landscapes,   Temporary Storage Gallery, BFP Creative, Brooklyn NY

Winter Juried,  Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown MA  (juried by Gus and Arlette Kayafas,

      Gallery Kayafas, Boston MA) 

Sideshow Nation IV: Through the Rabbit Hole Sideshow Gallery (in collaboration with Life on Mars Gallery),

      Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY  -- reviewed

2015

Sideshow Nation III: Circle the Wagons!!!   Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY  -- reviewed 

Summer Selections Show,  Hutson Gallery, Provincetown MA

In Sight,   Lunder Center for the Arts, Lesley University, Cambridge MA

2014

Sideshow Nation II – the Alamo,   Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY  -- reviewed

21 & Counting: The Painting Center Turns 21 The Painting Center, Chelsea, New York, NY 

25th International Juried Exhibition  Viridian Artists Gallery, Chelsea, New York, NY

      (juried by Katherine Brinson, Curator at the Guggenheim Museum)  -- reviewed

Summer Show,    Hutson Gallery, Provincetown MA

2013

Sideshow Nation Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY

Summer Show  Hutson Gallery, Provincetown MA.

Off the Wall  Danforth Art Museum, Framingham MA (juried by Dina Deitch,        Curator of Contemporary Art, DeCordova Museum)

2012

Summer Show,   Joyce Chasan Fine Art / Artsource International, New York, NY

12th Annual Invitational,   Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY  -- reviewed

2011

(CURATED/EXHIBITED:) Reaching for the Sky: 4 Artists Working w/Color,  Hutson Gallery, Ptown MA --reviewed

Juried Exhibition,  Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown MA (juried by Allison Kemmerer, Addison Gallery of American Art)

Juried Show,  Danforth Art Museum, Framingham MA (selected by Katherine French, Museum Director) 

                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  CURATORIAL PROJECTS / WRITING ON ART:
WRITING/PUBLISHING:   “The Art of Philip Gerstein” (Oct 2020 – Present):  Monthly online feature in 
Scene4 - International Magazine of Arts and Culture. (See above.) 
Example: "Philip Guston in Boston", (Oct 2022) -- extensive review of Boston MFA show, 9 illustrations.
CURATED/EXHIBITEDThe Shape of Color -- 5 Abstract Artists:
Ellen Weider; Francie Lyshak; Gordon Fearey; Jane Yudelman; Philip Gerstein /curator/
Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville MA,  April 2024
CO-CURATED/EXHIBITED[2-Person]  UNFORCED ORDER: The Paintings of Jo Ann Rothschild and Philip Gerstein,   
LICHTUNDFIRE,  New York, NY,   Dec-Jan. 2023-24
CURATED/EXHIBITED: The Empty & the Full  (Jan-Apr 2023)  Array Contemporary on ARTSY.
CURATED/ORGANIZED/EXHIBITED:  -- (3-person show; Jan-Feb 2022), 
"Lyrical Realism into Poetic Abstraction",  Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville MA. 
( Exhibiting Artists:) Alexandra Rozenman, Jo Ann Rothschild, Philip Gerstein --
Reviewed/reproduced in  ArtScope Magazine,  "Highly Permeable Beings: Rozenman,
Gerstein & Rothschild Align at Brickbottom", Jan/Feb 2022, p.40-43, 8 illustrations (James Foritano).
       --view Installation images
CO-CURATED/EXHIBITED: "The Future Is Many Colors"  (2020)  Array Contemporary on ARTSY.
CURATING/EXHIBITING project:   "Out of This World: Sci-Fi & Fantasy in Art",  
(Scheduled Sep.2020 - postponed by Covid), Maud Morgan Art Center, Cambridge MA

CO-WROTE/PRODUCED/PUBLISHED:  “The Color of Seasons: Nature and Abstraction

in the Paintings of Carolyn Newberger and Philip Gerstein”  (Spr/Sum 2020): 

50 p. 32 color ill. CATALOG of Apr 2020 Boston exhibition. View/order EXHIBITION CATALOG.

The Catalog reviewed/reproduced by Piri Halasz on her art blog "From the Mayor's Doorstep" Dec. 1, 2020 

(Also INCLUDED: award-winning Essay “Parallel Paths That Intersect” by Brian George -- subsequently 

PUBLISHED w/my introduction & images in  Scene4 - International Magazine of Arts and Culture ).

 
CURATED/PUBLISHED: “What We Have Wrought: Photographs of Mags Harries, Neal Rantoul, Eleanor Steinadler”, (Apr 2019)  3-person invitational photography show, Galatea Fine Art, Boston MA.  
PUBLISHED: extensive Curatorial Statement (w/images).  
Recommended/reproduced: “Best Photo Picks 4/19”, online Boston photo magazine What Will You Remember?
CURATED/ORGANIZED/EXHIBITED:  “Sacred Asymmetry -- Abstraction Boston/New York”  (12/2018 – 1/2019)
HallSpace, Boston MA.  (Exhibiting Artists:)  Francine Tint, Jo Ann Rothschild, Susan Roth, Marjorie Minkin,
Sarah Hinckley, Philip Gerstein.  Musical & dance performances paired with specific artworks.
Featured/recommended - The Boston Globe, Dec.23, 2018 (Cate McQuaid).    INSTALLATION VIEWS
CURATED/EXHIBITED/PUBLISHED: “Reaching for the Sky: 4 Artists Working with Color” (5-6/2011),
Hutson Gallery, Provincetown, MA.   
PUBLISHED: Color Essay (on history of color in Modernism), in The Provincetown Magazine, May 19, 2011, p.28-31.
The Essay also won a competition, as one of two essays PUBLISHED as:  
Gerstein, Philip. "Art of Color: Beauty in art comes in so many forms; art of color is a special case of it",
International Painting Annual 4. 1st. Cincinnati: Manifest Press, 2014. Print

   LONG CV + exhibition reviews

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