One could be forgiven for assuming that the work of American Master Sculptor Ira Bruce Reines is classical figurative art.  After all, there are exquisitely sculpted figures in the work and Reines did sculpt 70 editions of overtly figurative art for the popularly acknowledged “Father of Art Deco” Romain de Tirtoff (more commonly known as Erté.)

One would, however, be wrong in that assumption.

Reines’ sculpture is not classical figurative art because the figurative elements are not the subject of the art, merely metaphors for abstract, metaphysical concepts.  In fact, the figurative elements are entirely drawn from the sculptor’s emotions as he uses no models or reference.  Additionally, on many of his pieces there are contemporary elements created by the use of free-flow bronze which are entirely unplanned and wholly subject to individual interpretation.

“Sculptural Etherealism”, the term applied to Reines current body of work, is about universal truth, the relationship between man and divinity, and the juxtaposition of chaos and beauty.  In his work, Reines examines these metaphysical concepts in light of the emerging field of quantum physics.  The figures are simply forms to communicate abstract concepts and are no more or less significant or meaningful then the extensive abstract elements with which he surrounds them.

To say that Reines’ work is about the figuration contained within is akin to saying that Jackson Pollock’s work was about dripping paint or that Andy Warhol

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