Albert Paley "New Leaf Table," stainless steel, 60 x 60 x 22 3/4 inches. Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery.

There are only a few days left to catch the brilliant Albert Paley exhibition currently on view at Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The solo show, which runs through Saturday, June 13, features a stunning array of decorative arts objects by the renowned metal sculptor.

Albert Paley "Bed," steel, 81 x 67 1/2 x 95 inches. Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery.

Based in Rochester, New York, Paley excels at transforming rigid, often unforgiving materials, such as iron and steel, into graceful and eloquent objects. A Philadelphia native, Paley began his nearly fifty-year career as a goldsmith, crafting exquisitive jewelry that hinted at the elegant and lyrical aesthetic that would come to define his singular style. In the early 1970s, Paley won a commission to design gates for the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. -- a victory that would have a lasting impact on the trajectory of his illustrious career. Installed in 1976, Paley’s Art Nouveau-inspired Portal Gates exemplify his innovative style and mastery of the metalworking craft. Following the now-iconic commission, Paley shifted his focus to blacksmithing, creating everything from furniture, doors, and archways to architectural and sculptural installations, ultimately earning a reputation as the world’s leading metal artist.

Albert Paley "Comet Table Lamp (Small)," steel and glass, 15 x 15 x 25 inches. Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery.

The exhibition at Gerald Peters Gallery features nearly twenty of Paley’s decorative furniture works, including candleholders, tables, andirons, lighting, and a bed made of sinuous and sensual swirls of steel. Shockingly beautiful and incredibly functional, the works on view illustrate Paley’s ability to find harmony between strength and fragility, fantasy and practicality. Paley twists, bends, coils, cuts, and pulls metals to create pieces that exude a physicality that is both powerful and graceful. While there is an industrial element to Paley’s furniture, his restrained approach imbues his work with a sense of elegant modernity. Evan Feldman, Director of Contemporary Art at Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, said, “It has been a pleasure hosting the Albert Paley exhibition at our Santa Fe gallery. Our clients continue to be excited and charmed by Paley’s innovative designs.”

The first metalsmith to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Architects, Paley’s work can be found in the collections of many major museums, including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Paley continues to work in his spacious Rochester studio and has completed over fifty site-specific works commissioned by both public institutions and private corporations. Notable examples include Portal Gates for the New York State Senate Chambers in Albany, a plaza sculpture for AT&T in Atlanta, Georgia, a major entrance rotunda gate for the state courthouse in San Francisco, California, the main entrance gate for the Naples Museum of Art in Naples, Florida, and a towering sculpture for the entry court of Bausch and Lomb’s headquarters in Rochester, New York. Among Paley’s most recent works are a pair of entrance sculptures for the Columbia Public Library in Columbia, Missouri,  exterior archways for the town of Perry, Iowa, and Sentinel, a monumental plaza sculpture for the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he holds an Endowed Chair.