Please join us for a very special evening benefiting the

Jewish Ensemble Theatre

Dream Come True

nET @haiu'R

Artist opens Royal Oak gallery.

Arts Advocate

D

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

wring a casual conversation
with one of his three sons at
the Center Fitness Club in
the Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield, Benjie Pearlman had the
promise of achieving a longtime wish.
Pearlman, 83, who earned his living
in the culinary arts, spent the past 20
years crafting a cache of three-dimen-
sional artworks and wanted a gallery to
display them fully and regularly.
Thomas Pearlman, an attorney who
owns a vacant store in Royal Oak, heard
that wish and turned the store over to
his dad. Gallery Benjie Pearlman opens
with a reception 5-9 p.m. Friday, Aug.
20, to introduce the "Benjie Pearlman
Exhibition," which continues through
Oct. 2.
"I'll be showing 30-40 pieces of
ceramic sculpture and pottery as well
as bronze figurative and abstract sculp-
tures," says Pearlman, whose work has
been on display at the Janice Charach
Gallery in West Bloomfield, the Lawrence
Street Gallery in Pontiac,
the Birmingham
Bloomfield Art Center
in Birmingham and the
Detroit Artists Market.
"I wanted to open my
gallery because it's very
difficult for an artist
to show work. When a
gallery agrees to display
an artist's work, it usu-
ally means one or two
pieces on view for a
month:'
Pearlman, who has a
studio in the back of the
building and another in his Bloomfield
Township home, plans to share the
viewing space with other artists as he
schedules follow-up exhibits.
"I took my first art class at the Jewish
Community Center 50 years ago:' says
Pearlman, who taught culinary arts
in Detroit and Royal Oak and owned
Benjie's Fish and Seafood on Orchard
Lake Road. "When I was 10 years old,
I used to make model airplanes out of
balsa wood. I liked working with my

Artist/gallery owner Benjie Pearlman

hands and continued on sporadically.
"I've taken classes at the Center
for Creative Studies and Oakland
Community College, and I've studied
with other artists. I've done some
Judaica, large ceramic bowls with a
Jewish star embedded in the bottom of
each one:'
As Pearlman offers
his artwork for sale,
there are pieces marked
to remain in the
Pearlman household.
The ones he likes, such
as a particular ceramic
bowl, will be priced too
high for sale. Bowls and
pots liked by his wife,
Lois, who has been an
enthusiastic gardener,
have been kept for their
yard.
In a recent role rever-
sal, Pearlman became
the model for his granddaughter, Ava,
who was taking a photography class at
Cranbrook. She's the only one among his
seven grandchildren with an interest in
art, albeit as a hobby.
"I recently attended my 65th Central
High School reunion, and I got a list of
the people who attended; says Pearlman,
whose only remaining cooking commit-
ments are at the barbecue. "They'll all
get invitations to my gallery opening, and
I hope many will be there'

You are cordially invited to JET's 6th Annual

Behind the Genes
as

M lay, September rz
1:30 p.m.

.

featuring a very special performance by cabaret singer

at the home of...

Far 0 4

R 0 Li

Nusbaum

Cocktails, Dinner & Entertainment • S136 per person

For infornunion

248, "" 88. 2900.

Proceeds benefit JET's main stage and youth outreach programs.

❑

The public is invited to the opening of Gallery Benjie Pearlman, 211 Dewey
(corner of Rochester Road, south of 12 Mile), 5-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20. The
first "Benjie Pearlman Exhibition" can be seen noon-5 p.m. Thursdays-
Saturdays through Oct. 2. (248) 225-6464.

August 12 • 2010

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