Opening Reception Rediscovering Ponstingl: Visions of the Extraordinary

Monday, September 26, 2016 1:30 PM
Monday, September 26, 2016 2:00 PM

ALLENTOWN, PA–The Baum School of Art is excited to present Rediscovering Ponstingl: Visions of the Extraordinary, an exhibition featuring the Modern Surrealist-style paintings of Allentown native Franz Jozef Ponstingl (1927-2004). This exhibition of many never-before-seen works will be held in the David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries at the Baum School of Art.

In 1969, a large collection of Ponstingl’s work was purchased by Bert Baum, art dealer and son of Baum School founder Walter Emerson Baum. In 1971, Bert held an exhibition at his Sellersville, PA gallery featuring the work, where many of the paintings were sold. Recently, the work was rediscovered by a New Jersey-based collector who purchased the remaining pieces from Bert Baum’s estate. The collector has spent the last several years locating, restoring, and preparing the work to reintroduce Ponstingl to the art world. Rediscovering Ponstingl: Visions of the Extraordinary is the Lehigh Valley debut of these unusual and interesting works.

According to Dr. Kathy Battista, Director of the MA program in Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York, “[Ponstingl] had an early tendency towards surrealism, which is witnessed in paintings that merge personal references with fantastical elements.” Ponstingl was self-taught, and his subject matter includes surrealist landscapes, biomechanical forms, and abstract patterns. About a specific Ponstingl piece, Battista said, “The canvas is covered by a complex arrangement of forms and symbols that connect in a system that once again could be read as plan or elevation. While suggestive of a more graphic phase of Ponstingl’s practice, the painting still retains the dreamlike, personal lexicon of an artist who embraced the mystical and metaphysical.”

Born in 1927, Ponstingl spent much of his early life at his large family farm in Coopersburg, PA. After serving a stint in the Army Air Force during World War II, Ponstingl spent much of his next 20 years alternating between living in Washington D.C. while working to support himself, and the Coopersburg family farm, where he spent much of his time painting. Later in life, frustrated with a lack of public acceptance of his work, Ponstingl moved to the West Coast, where he retired in the early 1990s. He died in 2004, having never experienced the critical success he had hoped to achieve.

The opening reception for Rediscovering Ponstingl: Visions of the Extraordinary will be held on Thursday, October 20th, from 6:00—8:00pm at The Baum School of Art. The opening reception will feature a gallery talk by Dr. Kathy Battista, who wrote the introductory essay in the 54-page catalogue that accompanies this exhibition. Wine, beverages, and light fare will be served and all exhibitions and receptions at The Baum School of Art are free and open to the public.