GALE ROTHSTEIN

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Gale Rothstein is an assemblage artist living and working in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Her art practice has always been about putting together the pieces. Assembled boxes and environments (Inter-Exteriors) emerge from a strong narrative and historical framework. Referenced through re-use, the work is informed by her former career as a jewelry designer, as well as a life-long pursuit of collecting antiques, collectibles, found objects, the harvesting broken appliances, hardware, and other damaged objects. Re-contextualized and juxtaposed in discordant and surreal environments, these destinations prompt the viewer to ask, “Where are we? Who is here with us? How big or small are we? Are we awake or dreaming?” -continually challenging them to reevaluate one’s sense of time, place, and orientation.

Recent accomplishments include participation in 3 group shows of assemblage sculpture at the Maryland Federation of Art’s Circle Gallery Eye of the Beholder exhibitions, a one woman show called She Dreams at FX Collaborative, a New York City architectural firm, awards in the 3 dimensional category at the National Collage Society, Manhattan Arts, Artsy Shark, Fusion Art, Light Space Time,  inclusion in Artist Portfolio Magazine Issue 43, an artist’s feature article and cover in Broad Street Literary and Art Magazine and The Woven Tale Press and illustrations in several publications including Feral Journal of Poetry and Art and Lumiere Review.

Previously, Rothstein had worked for all her professional career as a jewelry designer through her company, Gale Rothstein Designs, Inc. Originally trained by a local silversmith in Tucson, Arizona, she returned to her native New York to hone her skills, working in many areas of the jewelry industry, including costume, sterling, and high-end gold and diamonds. She opened her company in 1981, through which she designed and manufactured an extensive line of fashion jewelry in her Meat Packing District studio, employing several artisans. Her pieces have been sold in hundreds of retail stores and craft galleries worldwide, and appeared in many fashion publications, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Women’s Wear Daily, and several industry magazines. Recently her early pieces have been surfacing on the websites of vintage jewelry dealers.

The artist dedicates her work to the memory of her father Milton Rothstein, a jack of all trades and one of the original recyclers and re-purposers, decades before it was a trend. She inherited his collection, and incorporates many of his objects into her assemblages, further supporting the historical and personal foundation of the work.