Robert Sagerman: Permutation as Refinement

Robert Sagerman’s densely layered impasto paintings swirl and gradate in brilliant hues of oil or silicone, hand milled by the artist from elemental pigments. Sagerman methodically places each stroke with a palette knife, keeping a ledger of the thousands upon tens-of-thousands of marks, which eventually correspond to the title of the completed work. This disciplined method of working parallels Sagerman’s scholarly inquiries applied to his own artistic practice.

The show’s title, Permutation as Refinement, directly correlates to the artist’s personal interest in the practices of Medieval Mysticism, an area in which he is a published PhD. The Hebrew word for "permutation," refers to the meditative, creative process of letter combination. The same word is used to convey "refinement", which in this context refers to the literal purification of metals in fire, as well as the metaphorical trial of facing the inner self, with regards to the creative process.

Robert Sagerman was born in Queens, NY and currently works in Jersey City, NJ. He received his BFA and MFA from Pratt Institute. He also holds an MS in Art History from Pratt Institute as well as an MA in Religious Studies and a PhD in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from New York University. Sagerman’s work has been reviewed by Art in America, NY Arts Magazine, Kunstforum International, Art News and the Atlanta Journal Constitution among many others. His work is in the public collections of the Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), The Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum (Hagen, Germany), and the Museum Für Konkrete Kunst (Ingolstadt, Germany).