Richard Serra on my art

"I have known Ira Joel Haber’s work since 1969 and I recall his early shows at the Fischbach Gallery which I took great interest in.  His early floor pieces and constructed configurations later developed into three dimensional boxes, a mixture of Cornel, Schwitters and urban detritus lifted from arcane places: flower shops, flea markets, urban Americana.  The scale of his work has always interested me in that he could describe discreet miniature volumes that implied an enormous scale.  I can place Ira Joel Haber in an updated lineage from Cornel to Dove to Hartley.  What is particular in his work is not only the scale in relation to part but the intensity of the interaction of color as well as the drawing in his constructions.  Ira Joel Haber’s work has been present on the scene for over 40 years and has had considerable influence on the work of other sculptors, painters, photographers and interestingly enough, filmmakers.  I would consider Ira an outsider who has retained the status of an artist’s artist."