Joel Perlman (b. 1943) is a respected American sculptor whose ambitious welded metal constructions have secured him a substantial place within the tradition of American abstract sculpture. Perlman first learned to weld by taking off-campus adult education classes while pursuing his BFA degree at Cornell University, an unusual dual track that gave him both the intellectual foundation of a serious art student and the practical technical skills that would become the foundation of his mature sculptural practice. He went on to complete his MA degree at the University of California, Berkeley, deepening his understanding of contemporary sculpture within one of the most vital West Coast art programs of his era.

Perlman has served as an instructor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City since 1973, a teaching commitment now spanning more than five decades that has made him a mentor to generations of younger American artists. This sustained engagement with the New York art community has kept his own practice in continual dialogue with the evolving currents of American sculpture, and it has placed him at the heart of one of the most consequential centers of contemporary art education.

His mature work sits within the tradition of welded abstract sculpture that runs from David Smith through Anthony Caro, Mark di Suvero, and the broader lineage of American Constructivist-influenced practice. Perlman's characteristic sculptures combine industrial materials with confident compositional intelligence, producing works that balance mass and openness, weight and levity, structural discipline and expressive freedom. His public commissions, which are of substantial scale, transform the plazas and outdoor spaces in which they are installed into more expansive artistic environments.

His sculptures have been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions, including presentations at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His public commissions can be seen across the United States, in London, and at the Hara Open-Air Museum in Japan, an international reach that reflects the wide critical appreciation his work has attracted. His sculptures are held in significant museum and corporate collections, where they remain vital contributions to the ongoing tradition of American welded abstract sculpture.