Sei sulla pagina 1di 5

Howard Fussiner

paintings & works on paper

september 21 thru november 2, 2013

Mont Sainte-Victoire 1991 40 x 49


WINDSOR

ART
CENTER
Exhibition Hours: Thurs. 6 8 PM Sat. 10 AM 4 PM Sun. 11 AM 4 PM

Born and raised in New York City, Howard Fussiner (1923-2006) studied painting with Robert Gwathmey, John Heliker, Hans Hofmann, Carl Gustav Nelson, and Hale Woodruff at the Art Students League and elsewhere. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from New York University. In 1960, the artist took up permanent residence in New Haven to accept a teaching post at Southern Connecticut State College (now University), and thereafter kept a second studio in Deer Isle, Maine. For decades, Fussiners highly individualistic landscape and figural compositions appeared before the public in a steady stream of one-man and group shows. Always subjects of fascination, these paintings were praised in the press for their exuberance of light-filled color, and expressive brushstrokes [that] burst forth. But they are far more than appealing treats for the eye. As one perceptive critic put it, Fussiners images possess a unique and persuasive power instilling in the viewer a rush of metaphysicalexperience. This exhibition, the first since the artists death, not only demonstrates Mr. Fussiners thematic range, but also explores a distinctive aspect of his creative approach. Over the course of his career, Fussiner journeyed in Europe and the United States to sites that had inspired some of the pioneers of Western painting. Back in the studio he depicted those places anew, producing highly original, modern canvases and works on paper that enter into dialogue, so to speak, with artistic representations by past masters. Fussiners landscapes featuring Mont Sainte-Victoire bear the painters unique stamp: fresh in conception, their quirky colors and lyrical contours ensure that they could never be confused for the work of any other painter. Their theme and structural properties, however, invoke Paul Czannes classic interpretations of that same towering rock, with which they seem to engage in thoughtful interchange. Similarly, the artists highly abstracted and arbitrarily tinted depictions of Salisbury Cathedral and the English countryside call up and seemingly comment upon classic versions of those same themes by John Constable and John Sell Cotman. Even Fussiners idiosyncratic renderings of his beloved Maine coast, his oddly off-kilter figural compositions, and his whimsical, subtly autobiographical parade paintings seem redolent of images made by masters from far away and long ago. In no way are Fussiners paintings derivative of any other art or artist. An important element of their artistry is their evocativeness, their thoughtful engagement with certain longstanding visual touchstones, a feature by which they, in effect, bring the past into conversation with the present. Perhaps that is what the critic meant when he described Fussiners images as capable of stirring metaphysical experience. David A. Levine Professor of Art History, Southern Connecticut State University

Seastack, Prince Edward Island


2002 40 x 49

Sand Beach, Low Tide


1999 40 x 49

Lifeguard, Marin Country 2002 40 x 49

Scout Scar, Lake District


1999 40 x 49

Looking Toward Oak Point


2000 40 x 49

Fish Creek Cove, High Tide


1998 40 x 49

Salisbury Cathedral II (From the Meadows)


1985

Torrey Pines Nature Preserve, Yellow


1992 40 x 31

Landscape, Umbria
1996 40 x 31

Deer Isle Parade, with Dogs & Brown Horse


38 x 48

Rock Beach with Figures


30 x 40

Deer Isle Parade


2000 40 x 49

Bathers Maine Coast


46 x 56

View of the Thimble Islands


1995 13 x 15

Red Rocks, Blue Sea


1981 16 x 18

Main Beach, Dusk


18 x 21

White Light
1985 40 x 49

Howard Fussiner: Paintings & Works on Paper


is made possible by the generosity of: Sheraton Hartford Hotel at Bradley Airport and individuals from the Windsor community.

WINDSOR

ART
CENTER

Exhibition Hours: Thurs. 6 8 PM Sat. 10 AM 4 PM Sun. 11 AM 4 PM 40 Mechanic Street Windsor, CT 06095 860-688-2528

Visit windsorartcenter.org

Potrebbero piacerti anche