David Gerstein was born in Jerusalem in 1944. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem from 1965-1966, then in Paris from 1966-1968 at the Ecole des beaux Arts, followed by another two years at the Art Student's League in New York. He completed his postgraduate studies at St Martin's School in London between 1973-1974. From 1971 until 1985 he was a senior lecturer at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design.

His work is part of the permanent indoor and outdoor collections of the Israel Museum, Haifa Museum, Tefen Open Museum, The Science Museum in Jerusalem, Herzeliya Museum and Hebrew University. Gerstein has also installed large public works of art in Jerusalem, Ramat Hasharon, Lod and Ancient Avdat. In 1999, Gerstein was selected to exhibit in Washington, DC at the National Jewish Museum's exhibition "Israel at 50."

He has a unique style. David Gerstein's whimsical, 3-dimensional hand painted sculptures are made of metal silhouettes which are laser cut and then hand-painted. Separators are used to create a three-dimensional impression.