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.
Location
Baum School of Art