About the Artist

Artist Bio

Ira Stein

Born in Brooklyn, New York
Lives and works in Los Angeles, California

Education

Apprenticeship with Laddie John Dill
Apprenticeship with Tom Wudl
Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture
Gemological Institute of America - Certified Gemologist
University of California Los Angeles (Art History)
Monterey Peninsula College (Photography)

Solo Exhibitions

2018      The Domestic, Location 1080, Costa Mesa, CA

               Show Apero Fine Art Catalogue, Showapero.com

2017      Show Apero Fine Art Catalogue, Showapero.com

2015      Genetics, I. Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
               Ira Stein, Saatchi Art, Los Angeles, CA
2013      Eye on Stein, Bubar’s Gallery, and Santa Monica, CA
2010      Ira Stein, Santa Monica Fine Art Studios, Santa Monica, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2015      New Perspectives, New Century Artists, Inc., New York, NY
2009      LA Biennial Exhibition, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008      Public Art Project, Westside Arboretum Gateway Complex, Santa Monica, CA
                Artists for the Children, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2007      Faces to Come, Soapbox Gallery, Venice, CA
2006      Painting & Drawing in Umbria, Scuola di S. Antonio, Assisi, Italy


Interested in collecting Ira Stein's work? 

Art by Ira Stein at Saatchi Art
Find the piece that moves you, and visit Saatchi Art to buy it today!

Purchase Art by Ira @ Saatchi Art

Or contact iGallery (iGallery@irastein.com)

 

 

Point of View

 Listen, I can't do pretty art. If the world needs more seascapes, landscapes, and still lifes - I'm out!  My work concerns big issues that are difficult to talk about – sexual and physical abuse, social responsibility and the dumbing down of society.

I believe in genetic essentialism – that certain human conditions are connected to a particular gene (or set of genes). This is not a politically correct standpoint, but I ask you, can you think of something that can happen without your genes?

You see, my art tells the stories of the relationships between me and my models. Before one brushstroke is put to canvas, I need to know absolutely everything about her. My artistic process requires time and a commitment to paint the unmediated truth discovered during this close relationship. It is an agonizing process but I am compelled to continue asking difficult questions.

Over the past years, I have painted the most unique women to me based on our chemistry and their story. I believe that their behaviors are genetically determined and not a result of experience or societal influences. My paintings, mixed media collages and sculptures will not necessarily go with the furniture but it will leave you with the unbelievable documentation supporting my belief that behaviors are predetermined by genetics.

Fuck Wisely (#fuckwisely) is a brutally honest summation of all my work – which is more profound than a pretty picture.