Joseph Fiore: A Deeper Look
Fiore Exhibit in the Portland Press Herald
Well-known Art Critic Jorge Arango takes a look at the work of Joesph Fiore as part of a piece on two Maine artists who left an extraordinary legacy with their work.
"One of the most interesting aspects of “Fiore at 100” is watching this painter trace a circular trajectory from abstraction to representation and back to abstraction again. ...[I]n the middle section of the show, craft is everywhere. ... Paint strokes and technique are not only quite visible, but resplendent, views expansive, and the conveyance of emotion and majesty palpable.
... There’s a lot of beautiful painting here, and in a variety of media. For me, however, there is something about the oil-on-paper paintings that carries the most resonance. Perhaps it is the color saturation, or what the paper does to blur the neatness of line. But there is a sumptuousness to these works and a quality of softness mixed with bold form that make them feel viscerally organic and tactile...."
.jpg)
“Bald Rock” by Joseph Fiore.
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
​
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.”
​
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.
Fiore’s Abstract Views of Maine
Joseph Fiore’s last show during his lifetime found him at the Anita Shapolsky Gallery in NYC in the Spring of 2007, joining fellow Maine abstract artists Lynne Drexler (1928-1999) and William Manning - all three of whom were Maine Art Gallery artists during the early 60’s. In John Goodrich’s review for the New York Sun, headlined Abstract Views of Maine, the critic found much to praise and contrast in the work of these “Three from Maine.”
​
Goodrich found Maine influences in the range of Fiore’s work: “Fiore summered in Maine for almost five decades. At Shapolsky, the influence of his teachers Josef Albers, Ilya Bolotowsky, and Willem de Kooning shows in the spry color of paintings spanning these 50 years. Mr. Fiore’s own touch, airier and more lyrical than any of his teachers’ is evident in the early canvas ‘Erie’ (1955), … in the more expressionistic ‘October 1’ (1960) … and, starting in the 80’s, turned toward calmer compositions of playful, petroglyph-like shapes - ‘Upward’ (2003) [being] a delicious example.” October 1 continues to impress and is included in the catalogue for Fiore at 100: Maine Observed and in Imagining the Landscape: Joseph Fiore’s Structures of Rhythm and Sentiment (Black Mountain College Dossiers #1) | BMCM+AC Store.
Joseph Fiore, “October 1."
Maine Calling Podcast on Fiore
The popular morning podcast will have a segment about Joseph Fiore.
Maine Calling is a weekday podcast that airs on Maine Public Radio. This particular episode can be found here to listen to at your convenience.
​
Image: Maine Calling logo from Maine Public website.
Podcast Airs
June 17, 11am - 12pm, replay at 8pm
Fiore Documentary Airs
Maine public airs the documentary “Joseph Fiore: The Nature of the Artist.” The film is a celebration “… of the art and life of Joseph Fiore [and] showcases a remarkable selection of work including early modernist still lifes, landscapes of midcoast Maine and stunning pictographic rock paintings that were the capstone of his career.” (Maine Public)
On demand videos are available to watch later here:
https://video.mainepublic.org/show/maine-public-film-series/
​
Image: Maine Public website.
Maine Public TV Air Times:
June 19, 9pm
June 20, 1am
June 21, 2pm
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.