Joseph Fiore: A Deeper Look
1961: Fiore and Contemporaries Curate Exhibit in Maine
In the summer of 1961, six artists with New York City studios and Maine summer retreats appeared together as part of the Maine Art Gallery’s Second August Invitational Exhibition. Lois Dodd, Charles DuBack, Joseph Fiore, Wolf Kahn, Alex Katz and Bernard Langlais were all part of the NYC 10th Street Galleries scene. Dodd (founder) and Katz were members of the Tanager Gallery; Fiore, DuBack and Langlais were original members of the Area Gallery which eventually took over the space of Tanager in the Fall of 1962. 10th Street galleries - Wikipedia
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As the Exhibition’s co-chairs noted in the program’s foreword, they intended to “present the greatest works of art being created by artists, either native to the State of Maine or summer resident … [making] this August Invitational Exhibition the most important exhibition of its kind ever held in Maine.”
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Sixty-four years later, we are again proud to celebrate that assembly of Maine masters with a centenary retrospective of the work of Joseph Fiore (1925-2008) in Fiore at 100: Maine Observed, June 19 – Aug 24.
Joseph Fiore in front of "Virgo Tiger," courtesy of Penobscot Marine Museum, photographer Peggy McKenna.
2024 Art Talk Celebrates Joseph Fiore
Two previous Damariscotta gallerists who have exhibited Fiore’s work speak with Maine Art Gallery board member Kay Liss in 2024. Yvette Torres is the former owner of Yvette Torres Fine Art, known for featuring the work of the Black Mountain College artists, including Fiore; and Geoffrey Robinson is the former owner of the River Gallery, and a personal friend of Fiore. During this recorded talk, they share recollections of this important 20th century artist. In an unexpected additional celebration, we receieved a bequest from the Morris Farm of Fiore’s work Stone Beast in time for the talk.
Fiore is a Maine Art Gallery founding artist and mentor shown in the 2024 exhibit Generations: The Legacy of Mentors alongside Maine leading watercolorist, David Dewey. He studied with Fiore at the Philadelphia College of Art and eventually followed him to Maine. Dewey also served as the Juror for the exhibition’s Juried Member Artists Show on the Gallery’s first floor in 2024.