Joseph Keiffer

joseph Keiffer

joseph KeifferReturn to Acadiajuly 24– augus t 18, 2013E s s a y b y Ca r l L i t t lePansies and Nasturiums, oil on panel, 16 x 24 inchescoverFourth of July, Northeast Harbor, oil on canvas, 28 x 30 inches6 court street ellsworth, maine 04605courthousegallery.com207 667 6611

Saltwater Farmoil on canvas20 x 40 inches

Joseph KeifferReturn to AcadiaWe are pleased to bring Joseph Keiffer back to Ellsworth with our firstsolo exhibition of his work at Courthouse Gallery. I became awareof Keiffer’s work seven or eight years ago while driving down MainStreet in Ellsworth. There was a small shop next to The Grand, andI often noticed the landscapes displayed in the window. The paintingsstood out, even from the car. Then one day, the shop was gone.The shop was The Armoire, owned by Francesca Zolotov. She solda mix of objects, silver, and “works of art,” and Keiffer showed hiswork there for over a decade before it closed in 2009. Zolotov metKeiffer in New York when he worked at Sotheby’s as a cataloguer anda junior painting and print appraiser. Once Zolotov learned he wasalso a painter, she invited him to show at her shop in Ellsworth.Keiffer, who first came to Maine in the 1970s, began to spend moretime here, and Zolotov introduced him to various spots along the coastto paint. They enjoyed many good times and successful years together.Fire Over Sutton, oil on canvas, 18 x 12 inchesnext pageSeptember, oil on canvas, 20 x 50 inchesAlthough Keiffer’s work would fit nicely with our stable, it tooksome persistence to track him down. Eventually I found his name,but an internet search turned up nothing. Time passed, I got busy,lost the name, and yet, memories of the paintings lingered. This pastyear, I looked for his name again, and soon a new internet searchbrought up Keiffer’s new website. A phone call led to a studio visit inNew York, and to this solo show. Keiffer is delighted to be home inEllsworth again, and we’re delighted to bring him back!—Karin WilkesCourthouse GalleryWing and Wing, oil on canvas, 28 x 30 inches

The World According to Keiffer by Carl LittleI wouldn’t want to be accused of promulgating any rules for artistic success,but I do suggest that would-be painters cannot find a better teacher than theworld they see with their own eyes.—Joseph KeifferEvery painter must choose—or be chosen by—a subject. As theywalk through this world, certain objects and images appeal totheir senses. They strive to convey these sensations by way ofpigments, offering us their findings.Joseph Keiffer presents places and objects that have caught hiseye—and which in turn catch ours. He offers landscapes andstill lifes; he paints both fireworks and a lamp-lit room. He isa stylist, but without overdoing it. His work sometimes has thefeel of certain nineteenth century artists, yet he brings his ownsensibility to bear on each canvas.The Yellow Bath, oil on canvas, 15 x 10 inchesExploring the coast of Maine, Keiffer will set up his easel beforea motif and get to work. He is not afraid to take on the iconicview, be it Caterpillar Hill overlooking Eggemoggin Reach andthe Deer Isle Thorofare or the Porcupine Islands dotting FrenchmanBay. His painting of Bar Island in Somesville may hark back toFitz Henry Lane, who frequented the area, but the rendering ishis alone: bright and balanced.Frenchman’s Bay, The Porcupines, oil on canvas, 25 x 27 inches

Paintings of fireworks over Northeast Harbor and Sutton Islandemploy a profound blue reminiscent of Maxfield Parrish. Keiffercaptures the light shows in mid-burst, water and anchored sailboatsbriefly illuminated by the pyrotechnics, smoke drifting off—transfigured night.Keiffer can be intimate, painting a room with shelves filled withbooks to which we would like to retire. His still lifes of flowersare lovely: potted pansies, a rhododendron blossom in full glory,nasturtiums arranged in a simple enamel measuring cup. Speakingof cups: the painter has a special passion for vintage tin ware andglass, which comes to a kind of climax in the remarkable balancingact that is titled Pink Plate.The brushwork ranges from flat to painterly, with the formerthe favored approach. Recreating the deck of a sailboat (Wingand Wing), Keiffer maintains a tight line that befits the precisionof rigging, cowl vents and woodwork. By contrast, to depict thedenouement of a field of lupine he turns to more impressionistmeans.Spirits and Vessels, oil on canvas, 18 x 15 inchesLike the dock that stretches out onto the water in the paintingHancock Landing, Joseph Keiffer leads us into a world at oncefamiliar and enticing, Accept his invitation and set sail.Carl Little lives and writes on Mount Desert Island. His latest book is The Artof Francis Hamabe.Dusk, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches

prvious pageCaterpillar Hilloil on canvas24 x 48 inchesRed, White, and Blueoil on canvas12 x 10 inchesThe Pink Plate, oil on canvas, 26 x 32 inches

Rhododendron Blossoms, oil on canvas, 10 x 8 inchesNasturium and Enamel, oil on panel, 10 x 8 inchesGentle Knocking, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches

oppositeA Cozy Cottageoil on canvas13 x 16 inchesBlue Chairoil on panel14 x 8 inches

Old Thingsoil on panel8 x 10 inchesPotting Pansiesoil on canvas12 x 12 inchesHancock Landing, oil on canvas, 16 x 21 inches

St. John’s College Art Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1999SELE CTE D COLLE CTIO NSAmbassador and Mrs. John Ong, OG70th Street Art Gallery, New York, NY 1995–99Adelphi University, Garden City, NYMr. John Whitney Payson, Hobe Sound, FLMeadow Creek Gallery, Edina, MN 1996Ms. Eleanor Alter/Dr. Allan Lans, NYPfizer Art CollectionCapstick-Dale Fine Arts, NY 1993Mr. W.M. Brady, NYMr. Marc Porter, New York, NYTiglietto, Kent, CT 1992Ms. Dominique Browning, NYBlue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY 1992Ms. Candace Carpenter, NYGarrison Art Center, Garrison, NY 1990Ms. Jane Curtin, Egremont, MASELE C TE D GROUP E X HIB ITION SSpanierman Gallery, New Consignments, New York, NY 2011–13The Gallery at Frenchmen’s Bay, Mount Desert Island, ME 2011–12Joseph keifferb o r n New York, New York 1952SOLO EX HIBITIO NSCourthouse Gallery Fine Art, Return to Acadia, Ellsworth, ME 2013Pamela Burns Presents, Recent Paintings, NY 2011Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery, Catskills Retrospective, Hunter, NY 2009The Armoire, While the Sweet Fields , Ellsworth, ME 2009Arlington Art Gallery, Hudson River Views, Poughkeepsie, NY 2008Wingspread Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME 2006, 2008Jones/Clark, New Paintings, NY 2007The Century Association, Recent Observations, NY 2007Gallery @510, Joseph Keiffer, Harrisburg, PA 2006The Armoire, Ellsworth, ME 1994–2009Beauregard Fine Art, Landscape, Still Life, Interiors, Rumson, NJ 2005Hubert Gallery, Recent Paintings, New York, NY 2004Beauregard Fine Art, Rumson, NJ 2003Hubert Gallery, Recent Paintings, New York, NY 2002Hubert Gallery, As Far As I Can See, New York, NY 2000The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier, PA 1999Spanierman Gallery, Maine: An Artist’s Retreat, New York, NY 2011Midtown-Payson Gallery, Transport, Hobe Sound, FL 2010Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, Landscape, NY 2007–08Hubert Gallery, The Painted Gift, NY 1999–2004The Century Association, Professional Painters, NY 1997–2007Wingspread Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME 1999–2001Sherry French Gallery, New York, NY 1998–99Spring Bull Gallery, Summer Invitational, Newport, RI 1999Sherry French Gallery, Mainely Maine, NY 1997–98Peter Hastings Falk, Madison, CT 1997Mrs. F.E.Dixon, Lafayette Hill, PAMrs. Richard B. Fisher, NYMr. and Mrs. Rudolph Giuliani, NY, NYMr. and Mrs. Ben Ali Haggin, NYMr and Mrs. Stuart Janney, Baltimore, MDMr. and Mrs. William I. Koch, Palm Beach, FLMr. and Mrs. E.J.Landrigan, NYMr. Nicholas Lemann, NY, NYMr. and Mrs. A.D.McCulloch, Bryn Mawr, PAMr. and Mrs. Armour Mellon, Ligonier, PAGarden, Winter Harbor, oil on canvas, 10 x 13 inchesMr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Milbank, NYMr. and Mrs. Thomas Puccio, NYMs. Joan Morgan, Washington, DCMr.and Mrs. George Segal, Kent, CTMr. and Mrs. Robert Nederlander and Pat Cook, New York, NYMr. G. Remak Ramsay, NYMr. and Mrs. Peter Rathbone, New Canaan, NYGleason Gallery, Boothbay Harbor, ME 1997Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sillerman, NYThe Schoolhouse Gallery, Croton Falls, NY 1995–97Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Greensburg, PABert Gallery, Providence, RI 1994–95Mr. Jerry Speyer/Katherine Farley, NYClosson’s Gallery, Cincinnati, OH 1993–95Ms. Linda Vester, NYConnoisseur Gallery, Rhinebeck, NY 1992–95Mr. and Mrs. Eric Widing, Ligonier, PAMontgomery Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1993Alexander Gallery, New York, NY 1992E D U CATIO NBlue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY 1990–91Brandeis University, BAGarrison Art Center, Garrison, NY 1987–90New York Studio SchoolSherry French Gallery, NY 1989, 1990Sotheby’s Works of Art CourseOld Books, oil on canvas, 9 x 14 inches

Schoodic from Acadia, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inchesback coverSomesville Landing, detail, oil on canvas, 18 x 36 inches

6 court street ellsworth, maine 04605courthousegallery.com207 667 6611

His latest book is The Art of Francis Hamabe. Spirits and Vessels, oil on canvas, 18 x 15 inches Dusk, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches. The Pink Plate, oil on canvas, 26 x 32 inches prvious page Caterpillar Hill oil on canvas 24 x 48 inches Red, White, and Blue oil on canvas 12 x 10 inches.