Untitled, 1966.
New Hope Arts will host “Rediscovering Ponstingl,” an exhibition featuring more than 20 works by Bucks County artist Franz Jozef Ponstingl, who was virtually forgotten until only recently.
An opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. Kirsten Jensen, Chief Curator of the James A. Michener Art Museum, will present an introduction to the artist’s work, which can also be seen on Sunday April 23, Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30, from noon to 5 p.m., or by appointment.
“See to Seed,” 1970-72.
Ponstingl (1927-2004) grew up on a Bucks County farm to which he frequently returned as an adult. He was also a self-taught craftsman, world traveler, “outsider” artist and original talent, and was chronicled for the first time in an exhibition at the Baum School of Art in Allentown in 2016.
Lately, there’s been a “resurgence of interest in his work,” according to New Hope Arts. Ponstingl’s art was included in the James A. Michener Art Museum ‘s “The Death of Impressionism? Disruption & Innovation in Art,” which closed in February 2017.
New Hope Art’s “Rediscovering Ponstingl” marks a first solo exhibition of his work, and also pays homage to the wealth of local painting talent that abounded during the 1960s and 70s.
Untitled, 1970.
“Ponstingl is among the artists not acknowledged by popular conceptions of Bucks County landscape painting who are now being rediscovered and appreciated,” says New Hope Arts.
New Hope Arts is located at 2 Stockton Ave.; (215) 862-9606.
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