March 11 through April 24, 1983

Peter Paone came into his aesthetic consciousness against the grain of Abstract Expressionism. Franz Kline was teaching at the Philadelphia College of Art during Paone’s student days, but the young artist focused instead on drawing — color came naturally to him then, and he was wary of such facility. While the artists of the New York School kept expanding the scale of their work, Paone chose to study miniature painting. His debut in the New York art world art was aided by Ben Shahn who respected Paone’s early and abiding commitment to the figure.

In Philadelphia Paone is best known as a printmaker. This Morris Gallery exhibition of his recent canvases should right the balance by highlighting his longtime involvement with painting. In 1970 Paone put aside oil and turned to acrylic as a medium because it was more conducive to his painterly concerns. He works “dry,” with no vehicle but water. Paone’s technique of multiple glazing capitalizes on the intensity of acrylic pigments. He often uses a palette knife for rich impastos.

Paone likes to keep his viewers on the edge –“Has he seen or imagined this?” we wonder. His paintings are based on a series of meticulous working-drawings which record real objects as well as delineate altered and invented elements. Birds fight over a worm in a garden of sculptured bushes; a woman ponders the taste of a sweet, unaware that she is being photographed. Paone invites us to approach closely as he proceeds to unsettle our preconceived realities.

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Judith Stein
Coordinator, Morris Gallery

Artist Statement

Somewhere between the world of realism and surrealism, there is a world that deals with the reality of relationships, favoring the substance of the imagination rather than the substance of everyday vision.

Objects that seemingly have no relationship to each other in their existence are juxtaposed in the life of the artist. They have touched each other and have become part of the vision and in turn have become his iconography.There is no urgency in this vision. The private reality has always been there and always will be. The viewer is allowed to question his knowledge of it, and in doing so, he often is uneasy and bewildered before the assemblage. This, at first implies fantasy; this is not true. Instead this is a reconstruction of reality, not an escape from it.

Although the paintings in this exhibition have recourse to the subject of dreams, subconscious visions and chance, they are representational. In being so, the statement is articulate and precise…and to me, reality reassembled.

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Peter Paone

Checklist

All paintings are acrylic on canvas; all dimensions are in inches.

1. Mid-Day 1981, 50 x 30

2. The Mantel, 1981, 36 1/2 x 43 1/2

3. The Foundry, 1981 24 x 30

4. Longwood Gardens, 1981 24 x 40

5. Westview (lower garden), 1982 48 x 72

6. Studio #1, 1982, 44 x 24

7. Flowering Brushes #1, 1982, 24 x 29 1/2

8. Reflections of a Party 1982, 40 x 40

9. Black Leaves, 1982, 24 x 36

10. Sculptor’s Studio, 1982, 40 x 50

11. Visit, 1982, 72 x 24

12. Arrangement #2, 1979, 30 x 24

13. Dessert Table, 1979, 36 x 72

14. Performance, 1979, 24 x 30

15. Black Peacock, 1977, 30 x 40

16. Someone’s Topiary, 1977, 30 x 40

17. Along the Schuylkill, 1981, 72 x 36

18. Arrangement #4, 1981, 24 x 30

Peter Paone’s work is shown through the courtesy of the Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston.

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Artist Biography

Peter Paone was born in South Philadelphia in 1936. As a youngster he studied drawing at the Fleisher Art Memorial and attended classes at the Albert C. Barnes Foundation in 1953-54. A precocious talent, he had his first solo show, of sculpture, at the Print Club in 1950. He began doing prints while a student at John Bartram High School. Subsequently he worked with Benton Spruance, and spent 1956-57 printmaking in conjunction with Ben Shahn. The following year he graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art. At the age of 29, Paone was awarded a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship (1965) and spent two years in London studying ivory miniature painting. He also received Tiffany Foundation grants in 1964 and 1965. From 1960 to 1976, Paone lived in New York and London. An Associate Member of the National Academy of Design, Paone currently teaches at the School of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

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Solo Exhibitions (selected)

Makler Gallery, Philadelphia 1961, 1976; Fort Worth Art Museum, 1964; Forum Gallery, New York, 1965; Clytie Jessop Gallery, London, 1957; Kennedy Gallery, New York, 1970, 1972; Robinson Gallery, Houston, 1971, 1973, 1974,1976; Roswell Museum, Roswell , New Mexico, 1977; Hooks-Epstein Gallery, Houston, 1978, 1980, 1981; Museum of the Southwest, 1979; Galerie E. Hilger, Vienna, 1982.

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Group Exhibitions (selected)

The Print Club, Philadelphia, Paone — [Sidney] Goodman, 1958; Landry and Cober Galleries, New York, Insiders, 1960; Brooklyn Museum, National Print Exhibition, 1962, 1963; Forum Gallery, New York, 1963, 1964, 1965; Dintenfass Gallery, New York, American Still Life, 1964; Worlds Fair, New York, American Art Today, 1964; Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, Drawing Biennale, 1964; Musee d’art Moderne, Paris, Biennale, 1965; National Institute of Arts and Letters, Exhibitions of Nominees, 1966; Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, Miniature Painting, 1968; Butler Institute, Youngstown, Ohio, 1969; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Contemporary Drawings, 1978; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, The Peaceable Kingdom, 1982; Tyler School of Art, Temple University, The Renaissance Revisited, 1982.

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Public Collections (selected)

Museum of Modern Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Print Club, Philadelphia; Princeton Library; University of Massachusetts; Utah Museum; The Library of Congress; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; British Museum, London; Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Butler Institute, Youngstown, Ohio; Atlantic Richfield, Visual Arts Center, Los Angeles.

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Bibliography (selected)

By the Artist

“Miniatures,” Prometheus, Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, #21, April 1968
“Introduction,” The Unrealists, Exhibition Catalogue, Houston: Hooks-Epstein Gallery, 1974.
“Introduction,” Ben Shahn, Exhibition Catalogue, houstn: Hooks-Epstein Gallery, 1983.

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About the Artist

Books:

Magalhaes and Feldman, Doorway to Portugeuse, New York: Falcon Press, 1957, p.v.
Rodman, Selden, The Insiders, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1960, Ch. 15, “Draftsmen of the Double Edge,” pp. 97-100.
D’Arbeloff, Natalie and Yates, Jack, Creating A Collage, London; Studio Vista,1967, p. 64. Fig. 74.
Zigrosser, Carl, My Own Shall Come to Me, Philadelphia: Carl Zigrosser, 1971.
Beall, Karen F., American n Prints In The Library Of Congress, Washington, D.C.: Library Of Congress, 1970, p. 328.
Robinson, William and O’Connor, Ann, Kachinas — Paone, Austin: Encino Press , 1976.
Cummings, Paul, Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1966, 1st ed; 1971, 2nd ed; 1977, 3rd ed.

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EXHIBITION CATALOGUES (solo):

Peter Paone –Paintings, New York: Grippi Gallery, 1962.
Peter Paone — Drawings, New York: Forum Gallery, 1965
Peter Paone –London paintings, Houston: David Gallery, 1968
Peter Paone — Watercolors, New York: Kennedy Gallery, 1970
Peter Paone — Paintings, New York: Kennedy Gallery, 1971
Peter Paone –Prints, Introduction by Kneeland McNulty, Houston: Robinson Gallery, 1974.
Peter Paone — Drawings, Houston: Hooks-Epstein Gallery, 1978
Peter Paone –“My Circus,” Houston: Hooks-Epstein Gallery, 1979
Peter Paone — Watercolors, Houston: Hooks-Epstein Gallery, 1981

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EXHIBITION CATALOGUES (group):

Philadelphia Arts Festival, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1962
American Printmakers, Syracuse: Syracuse University,1964
Kennedy Graphics, Introduction by Lawrence A. Fleishman, New York: Kennedy Gallery, 1969 and 1970, Vols. I and II.
Contemporary Drawings, Introduction by Frank Goodyear and Anne Percy, Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1978
Artist and Teacher, Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1979.

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PERIODICALS

Baum, Walter E., “Nine Young Artists Offer Public Exhibit,” Bulletin, Philadelphia , October 26, 1952.
Grafly, Dorothy, “Artist Equity Show,” Bulletin, Philadelphia, January 31, 1959.
Kleckner, Carol E., “Fleisher Art Memorial Displays Peter Paone Works,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 14, 1960
Burrows, Carlyle, “Sardonic Realist,” Herald Tribune, January 15, 1961.
Shiff, Bennett, “Paone, Old And Honorable Tradition,” New York Post, January 22, 1961.
Farber, Manny, “Insiders and Others,” Arts, January 1961, pp. 43,44.
Leon, Dennis., “Printmakers exhibit Reflects style Range,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 17, 1961.
O’Doherty, Brian, “Paone at Grippi,” New York Times, February 10, 1962.
“A Family affair,” Artist Proof, spring, summer 1963-1964, vol. 5 p. 19.
Brown, Gordon, “Art Trends,” Art Voices, March 1963, p. 14.
“Of Graphic Interest,” Artist Proof , fall, winter, 1963-64, vol. 6, p. 56.
Seldis, Henry J., “Draftsmanship Of Nations Finest,” Los Angeles Times, February 9, 1964.
Wolf, Ben, “Studio Letter,” Jewish Exponent, June 11, 1965.
Donohoe, Victoria, “Paone sculpture,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 29, 1965.
Williams, Sheldn, “Paone Progress,” The American London, November24, 1967.
“Peter Paone at Kennedy,” Arts magazine, February 1970.
“Paone at Kennedy,” Art News, March 1971.
Freed Eleanor, “Art,” Houston Post, December 5, 1971.
Mellow, James R., “Peter Paone (Kennedy),” New York Times, November 18, 1972.
Schulze, Franz, “Art,” Chicago Daily News, May 22-23, 1971.
Forman, Nessa, “It’s Not All Gall — There’s Creation,” Bulletin, Philadelphia, November 5, 1972.
Donohoe, Victoria, “A Paean to Paune, Printmaker Superb,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 10, 1972.
Freed, Eleanor, “Realm of make Believe — Paone,” Houston Post, July 1, 1973.
The Tamarind Institute Report # 13, June 1974.
Keating, Douglas J,. “Paone, Always Difficult to Classify, Displays Eccentricity At Makler,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 27, 1976.
Donohoe, Victoria, “Paone — Krause,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 25, 1980.
Conheim, Maryanne, “Etching For Touch of Class,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 3, 1981.
Johnson, Patricia C., “Paone Watercolors,” Houston Chronicle, October 31, 1981.

The Morris Gallery displays the work of outstanding contemporary artists with a connection to Philadelphia, determined by birth, schooling, or residence. The exhibitions are chosen by a committee composed of area artists, museum personnel, and collectors, and the curatorial staff of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Currently serving on the Morris Gallery Exhibition Committee are: Murray Dessner, Anne d’Harnoncourt, Jennie Q. Dietrich, Harold Jacobs, Janet Kardon, Charles Mather III, Dr. Perry Ottenberg, David Pease, Jody Pinto, Acey Wolgin; and Academy Staff Frank Goodyear, Kathy Foster, Linda Bantel, Judith Stein