Sasson Soffer Foundation and The White Room Gallery Presents Master Minds
Exhibition: Master Minds | Joe Stefanelli | Sasson Soffer
Venue: The White Room Gallery, 2415 Main Street, Bridgehampton, NY, 11932
Date: April 15 – May 9, 2021
“A Master Mind is a brilliant thinker with original ideas. Joe Stefanelli and Sasson Soffer are two world renowned artists who not only live up to that description but who have also shared connection to East Hampton through Joe’s studio paintings and Sasson’s sculpture park. Joe, originally from Philadelphia, was part of New York School of abstract expressionists showing with Pollock and Willem de Kooning . Sasson, originally from Baghdad, came to NY to study with sculptor Jose de Rivera and painter Mark Rothko. Sasson lived to 84, Joe to 96. Two artists from different backgrounds living parallel lives of abstraction. As Thoreau said, “It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.” – Curator’s insight
From April 15 through May 9, 2021, the Sasson Soffer Foundation in association with the White Room Gallery is pleased to present a survey of work by artists Joe Stefanelli (1921 – 2017) and Sasson Soffer (1925 – 2009).
Left: Sasson Soffer, Fall II, circa 1958-1959, mixed media on board, 48 x 48 in
Right: Joe Stefanelli, Sohag Sentinel, 1983, acrylic on canvas, 69 x 52 in
About the artists
Joe Stefanelli (1921-2017)
Member of New York School Abstract Expressionists recognized around the world as the leading art movement after WW II. He showed with Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline.
1960–1979
Instructor at: the University of California, Berkeley, CA; Princeton University, Princeton, NJ; New York University, New York, NY; Columbia University, New York, NY; Brooklyn College, New York, NY; Temple University, Rome, Italy
Collections: Ciba-Geigy Collection, Chase Manhattan Bank, Art Institute of Chicago, Corcoran Art Museum, Washington, Eugene V. Thaw Collection, Max Kozloff Collection, Montana Historical Society, Montana, New York University, Norfolk Art Museum, Robert Rosenblum Collection, Sarah Lawrence Collection, Union Carbide Collection, University of California Museum, University of Massachusetts, University of Montana, Walter P. Chrysler Collection, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Whitney Museum, New York. Yellowstone Art Center, Montana
Sasson Soffer (1925-2009)
Soffer was born in Baghdad, Iraq of a Jewish background. The son of a scribe, Soffer spent much time drawing in his father’s studio. In 1948, the Arab-Israeli war broke out, and after some months in hiding, Soffer escaped to Iran and eventually Israel.
In the early 50’s Soffer made his way to New York City where he enrolled in Brooklyn College where he studied with Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Burgoyne Diller, and José de Rivera. He dedicated the early part of his career to abstract painting and developed what would become his signature color — a deep ultramarine blue— which he often embellished with Arabic calligraphy.
In 1954, Soffer had his first one-person exhibit, at the Artists Gallery in New York City. The next year, he was invited to show his work at the Carnegie Internationale in Pittsburgh. In 1961, Soffer had a one-person exhibit at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. That same year, he was once again invited to show at the Carnegie Internationale and was chosen as a New Talent, by Art in America.
Soffer was invited to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in 1962 and won a Ford Foundation Purchase Award to the Whitney Museum. In 1963, Soffer began to focus on three-dimensional works and soon became widely known for his public sculptures. In 1966, his work was included in the Whitney Museum Annual.
His sculptures were exhibited at Lincoln Center, Battery Park, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Bard College, New York University, Harvard University, Hampshire College, Queens College, and Connecticut College. They are currently being displayed in China, Israel, Lithuania, and Cuba.
On A Hampton’s Personal Note
A bit about Joe
The studio tucked in the back of 24 Cedar Street was a magical place, especially in the late afternoon, when, if you hit it right, Joe Stefanelli would be cracking open a beer — Pabst, if memory serves; certainly, nothing imported — and look over what the day had delivered.
The scruff on his face wasn’t what you would call distinguished. But it wasn’t disheveled, either; it was well-worn and cloudy white and set him off from the swirls of color that were always breaking out around him. Joe smiled easily and quickly, and in those moments, after he’d crushed the can he just emptied, he’d bound out of the studio like a farmer who knew he’d done all he could for his crops that day.
Joe wasn’t the only famous painter at 24 Cedar Street. His wife, Leatrice Rose, also studied in the late 1940s with Hans Hofmann at The Cooper Union and had a long and rich career in abstract expressionism but you wouldn’t know it sitting around their kitchen table. Leatrice’s gravelly voice slid in and out of Joe’s sing-song patter in fast-paced conversation and art was often the last thing they wanted to talk about. My entry to their world was Leatrice’s son, Ethan, an older brother with whom I was attached at the hip. They were curious about the hot spots we’d visit — this was, after all, the late-70s and disco seemed so, well, silly — and endlessly generous about making sure we were well fed before we went on our way.
Like a lot of kids born into remarkable worlds, my friend could be blasé about his circumstances. His uncle on his father’s side, after all, was the legendary art critic Clement Greenberg, an early champion of Jackson Pollock. And he also grew up in Westbeth, the affordable housing complex for artists in the West Village with sweeping views of the Hudson River. Ask him about the night Willem de Kooning stopped over for dinner. Or the group of greats who Joe regularly met at the old Cedar Tavern on West Broadway (notice a theme?), which included de Kooning, Pollack, and Franz Kline.
Joe loved talking baseball and rolling his eyes at the summer crowd. (What kind of lunacy would make someone want to go out!) I’m not sure I ever saw him wear anything resembling a pastel or go near the beach. But he wore a safari hat better than Hemingway and knew his way around an Italian vegetable garden blindfolded. The East End can be an endless search for a happening. But on those afternoons where Joe would hand over a Pabst and want to know what was going on in the world beyond Cedar Street, you knew you were in the right place. His studio may be gone, but for me, it will always be The Hamptons.
Shaun Assael is an author who writes about sports, politics, and true crime — sometimes all at once.
A bit about Sasson
In 1986, Sasson and his wife Stella Sands bought a house off Red Dirt Road in Amagansett. They spent summers and many full-time years there, along with their daughter, Jessica Soffer. Sasson loved the East End. He would go daily to the beach, fully dressed in white—white pants, white socks, white shirt, and white hat. Having grown up in Iraq, he was aware of how to keep cool under the sun.
Years later he bought five acres off Town Lane Road in East Hampton to house several of his monumental sculptures, which had been fabricated in steel plants all over the country. Many were shown as public art in NYC, including in front of Lincoln Center.
Sasson sold the land to East Hampton and a sculpture park with several of his monumental pieces remain on it. The park is open year-round to the public. Sasson felt most at home on the East End where he lives—in spirit and through his artwork. The absence of his presence is everywhere.
Stella – Sasson’s widow
About the Sasson Soffer Foundation
In 1998, the Sasson Soffer Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit organization to promote patronage of sculpture and painting; to sponsor art exhibits; and to advance public interest in the works of Sasson Soffer. Among other activities, the Foundation has gifted monumental sculptures to sites in various countries, among them: China, Cuba, Lithuania, and Israel; and to various colleges, including Connecticut College and Queens College.
In 2006, the Town of East Hampton, New York, purchased a five-acre parcel of land from the Foundation and turned it into a Sculpture Park to exhibit the monumental sculptures of Sasson Soffer.
About the White Room Gallery
Opened in 2015 to rave reviews and has been voted the best gallery in the Hamptons and the entire South Fork ever since.
We feature contemporary art with a provocative twist of inspiration. Exhibits include photography, mixed media, sculptures, and all forms of painting. The gallery provides a wide array of styles while featuring both well-known artists and emerging talents. We exhibit all year long with a variety of themed/curated shows. The gallery is run by co-owners/co-directors Andrea McCafferty and Kat O’Neill who have over twenty years of experience in the arts. The White Room Gallery Culture Club has presented performance art, theater, and comedy with a portion of the proceeds going to various charities. Art4Design is the design arm of the gallery. To see an interview of Andrea and Kat go to www.happeninginthehamptons or youtube.
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All reproduction is subject to the authorization of the Sasson Soffer Foundation and The White Room Gallery
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