Fred Staloff Brochure.indd

F RE D STALOFF’S
V ISU A L P OETRY
M u s e u m o f A r t - D e La n d
I
July 17 – October 4, 2015
F
tural function. The forms of nature are returned to nature. A poetry in which the
elements of the Still-Life-Landscape reflect a universal whole starts to emerge.
Staloff’s early works, filled with both lyrical optimism and troubling pessimism, were
inspired by a visit to France in 1955. In 1963, Staloff returned to Paris with his wife,
planning to spend a year. A series of works based on demolitions were painted in
France in the 1960s. These facades, with their crumbling plaster, paint and wallpaper, would become the vehicle and the atmosphere for Staloff’s meditation on the
meaning of the black rectangle. The final painting in this series is a metaphor for
the atomic bomb as well as the Holocaust. It is The Hole—a simple work of a nearly
silent rectangle of brownish black set in a highly textured field of burnt cast-ironlike grey. The only redeeming feature in this somber landscape is a weak horizontal
band of green, hinting at life.
While in France, Staloff participated in exhibitions at the Salon des Independants
and the City of Chatillon Annuals. He had numerous one-man exhibitions; at the
Galerie des Jeunes, Galerie Mouffetard, and at the Atelier Decima. The art critic
Christine Gleiny commented at the time; “These paintings are an invitation to
poetic contemplation. We have here an artist engaged in large perspectives.” Staloff
also had an affiliation with the Galerie
Petrides.
Gallery Talk & Reception
In 1965 Staloff was invited to exhibit
with Artist Fred Staloff
red Staloff was born in New Jersey in 1924. Mathematics and science were his
his work in a one-man show at the
major interests as a high school student. He was attending the Newark College of
September 18, 2015
Polder Gallery in The Hague. Sustained
Engineering when World War II changed his plans. He joined the army in 1943.
by collectors’ purchases, the planned
600 N. Woodland Blvd.
one-year sojourn in Paris was extended
Initially, he was assigned to continue studies at the University of California at Los
Reception: 5 p.m.
Angeles, but before long found himself participating in the invasion of the Philippine to six years. In 1969, unanticipated
events precipitated the Staloffs’ return
Islands and Okinawa. Although the atomic bomb dramatically brought a terminaTalk: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
tion to the war, the moral implications for science were deeply troubling to a young to America. A one-man exhibition of
$10; Members No Charge
Staloff’s paintings took place at The
idealistic mind. Discharged from the army in 1946, Staloff found it difficult, if not
RSVP
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Caldwell
College
in
1978.
Additi
onally,
impossible, to reintegrate himself in previous plans and activities. As the outlines of
a second major historical event, the Holocaust, emerged from the war, his cynicism he participated in juried exhibitions at
or call 386.734.4371
the Newark Museum, The Montclair
became acute. He would resolve this dilemma by pursuing a career in the arts.
Museum, The New Jersey State MuIn 1946, with aid from the G.I. Bill, he enrolled as a student in the Newark School of seum, The Painters & Sculptors Society of New Jersey, The Summit Art Center, The
Fine & Industrial Art. There he studied sculpture with Reuben Nakian and paintSomerset Art Association (first prize), The Jersey City Museum Bicentennial (Phelps
ing with Hans Weingaertner. After graduating in 1949, he went to Paris, where
Award), The 1990 New Jersey Annual Exhibition, as well as several juried exhibitions
he studied in the Atelier of Ossip Zadkine and then at the Académie de la Grande
at the National Academy of Design.
Chaumière. It was at this time that he fortuitously met the young woman, Janette
Gannat, who would become his wife and be so supportive of his artistic ambitions. As a member and officer of Audubon Artists, Staloff has participated in many of its
annual exhibits. In 1991, he won the William Myerowitz Award; in 1994, the Elaine
Back in the United States in 1951, Staloff continued to paint while holding various
& James Hewitt Award; and in 1995, the Michael M. Engel Memorial Award. Staloff
part-time jobs. His work in the early part of the decade showed various influences was presented with the Joe & Emily Lowe Award in 1994 at the Annual of the Allied
as he searched for a more personal expression. In 1956, he resigned from all other Artists of America, and was elected to the board of directors. We thank Fred Staloff
activites to commit himself entirely to painting. Toward the end of this period,
for his extraordinary talent and wonderful art which inspires us and gives us joy. Staloff first demonstrated the concept of viewing the still life form as a landscape.
The Butler Institute of American Art
No longer were the elements of the still life represented solely for their architec-
Fred Staloff ’s Visual Poetry Catalogue
on loan from The Butler Institute of American Art
Apples and Grapes, 1960, oil on panel, 12” x 13.5”
At Alma, 1998-2010, oil on panel, 12” x 13.5”
Autumn in Hemlock, 1990, oil on panel, 12” x 12.75”
Black Square, 1989, oil on panel 15” x 18”
Chatillon at Night, 1969, oil on panel, 12.5” x 15.5”
Chatillon Ensoleille, 1968, oil on panel, 15” x 18 5/8”
Construction with Black Entrance, 1968,
oil on canvas, 25 .5” x 21.5”
Courbevoie, 1965 – 1966, oil on canvas, 28.75” x 23.5”
Crumbling Facades ll, 1968 – 1970,
oil on canvas, 36.5” x 45.5”
Dancing Violets, 1960, oil on panel, 10” x 11”
Demolition at Courbevoie, 1964-1965,
oil on canvas, 23.6” x 28.75
Diogenes, 2002, oil on panel, 21.5” x 25.5”
Elements of the City, 1965, oil on canvas, 28.75” x 23.75”
Fall Landscape, 1995, oil on canvas, 24” x 30”
Fields and Maringues, 1989, oil on canvas, 22” x 23”
Five Pears as a Landscape, 1958, oil on panel, 18” x 24”
Green, Red and Amber, 1969, oil on paper, 11.25” x 14”
La Loire, 1985, oil on canvas, 24” x 34”
La Mairie de Maringues, 1989-1993,
oil on panel, 16” x 12”
Les Cabanes, 2009, oil on canvas, 21.5” x 28.75”
Light and Darkness, 1961-1963,
oil on panel, 11.25” x 13.5”
Lower Manhattan at Night, 1963,
watercolor on paper, wl 8.5” x 10.5”
Lyrical Abstraction, 1968, oil on canvas, 18” x 21.75”
Meadowlands, 1998, oil on canvas, 30” x 40”
Morning Glory, 1960, oil on panel, 11.5” x 10”
Morning Over the Bay, 24” x 32”
Nocturnal Architecture, undated, oil on canvas, 35” x 46”
Pears as a Landscape, 1958, oil on canvas, 18” x 24”
Reservoir with Pump-House, 1962 - 1963,
oil on canvas, 14” x 19”
Santa Margherita, 1968, watercolor on paper, 7” x 8”
Self Portrait with Red Tie, 1970, oil on canvas, 21” x 18”
Still Life with Bread, 1948, oil on canvas board, 16” x 20”
Still Life with White Vase, 1992 – 1993,
oil on panel, 21.5” x 18”
Strawberries and Plant, 1967,
watercolor on paper, 8.50” x 10.5”
Study of Books, 1947, oil on canvas, 16” x 20”
The Big Sweep, 1995, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”
The Blue Vase, 1962 – 1963, oil on canvas, 20” x 24”
The Edge of the Ravine, 1963, gouache, 10” x 17”
The Red Bush, 1970, oil on panel, 12” x 13.5”
The Reservoir at Night, 1963, oil on panel, 10” x 11.5”
The Trio, 2004, oil on canvas, 18” x 16”
The Water Tower, 1969, watercolor on paper, 8.5” x 10.5”
Tissonnieres, 1969 – 1970, oil on canvas, 18” x 21.5”
Vegetable Debris with Leaks, 1963,
oil on canvas, 25” x 30”
Window, Landscape and Sunset, 1965,
oil on canvas, 28.5” x 23.5”
Dancing Violets, 1960, oil on panel, 10” x 11”
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