Alex Gabriel Bernstein

Alex Gabriel Bernstein is an American sculptor in glass.

Life

Bernstein has risen quickly as a significant figure in the newest generation of American glass artists. The child of two glass artists, Katherine and William Bernstein, Alex grew up in the middle of the American Studio Glass movement. He was in an excellent position to study with the best glass resources of the time.

He gained a B.A. in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and worked at a children's psychiatric hospital before returning to the glass world.

In 2000, Bernstein went to the Czech Republic at the invitation of Czech artist František Janák. Under Janák's tutelage, Bernstein learned the process of casting glass and absorbed his mentor's disciplined work ethic. Bernstein went on to receive an Master of Fine Arts from the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2001. He has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art, RIT, The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Penland School of Crafts. He served as the Department head of glass at the Worcester Center for Crafts in Worcester, Massachusetts, for three years before moving back to the mountains of Western North Carolina to devote all of his time to making his sculptures.

Exhibitions

Bernstein has mounted several solo shows in the past several years at Chappell Gallery, New York; Sandra Ainsley Gallery, Toronto; Thomas Riley Gallery, Cleveland; Traver Gallery, Seattle; and Prism Contemporary, Chicago. Bernstein is also represented at SOFA New York City, Chicago, and Palm Beach by Chappell Gallery. His work is held in many collections, including those of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, Corning Museum of Glass, Glasmuseum Frauenau in Germany, the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, The Rochester Institute of Technology, the Mellon Financial Corporation, the Wachovia Corporation, and the Bascom-Louise Fine Art Gallery.