SAMUEL GELBER
Painter
BIOGRAPHY
Born on March 14th, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York.
1947 – Completed academic studies at the New Utrecht High School, entered Brooklyn College.
1951 – Graduated from Brooklyn College in with honors in Art.
1951-1953 – Drafted into the U.S. Army Infantry, stationed in Heilbronn, Germany.
1953 – Honorable discharge from U.S. Army, enrolled in New York University.
1954 – First painting exhibition.
1955 – Graduated from N.Y.U. with Masters in Art Education.
1955-1959 – Teaching art, painting, etching and engraving at Pratt Institute, N.Y., Newark State College, N.J. (now Keene College), and Woodstock Artist’s Association.
1959 – Married Blanche Lilienblum, toured Europe and lived in Siena, Italy for 1 year.
– First one-man painting exhibit.
1960 – Began teaching art part-time at Brooklyn College aside resumed teaching at Pratt Institute and Newark State College.
1965 – Appointed to Brooklyn College faculty.
1966 – Received Painting Award at Berkshire Museum’s 15th Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture.
1972 – Promoted to Full Professor of Art at Brooklyn College.
1975 – Elected Chairman of Art Department, School of General Studies at Brooklyn College.
1983 – Co-director of ‘Brooklyn College in Carrara’ summer exchange program, Italy.
1984 – Co-director of ‘Brooklyn College in Carrara’ summer exchange program, Italy.
1985 – Co-director of ‘Brooklyn College in Italy’ summer exchange program, Pietrasanta, Italy.
1986 – Awarded first university grant in Lithography for Italy.
1987 – Elected Deputy Chairman of Brooklyn College Art Department.
– Awarded second university grant in Lithography for Italy.
1990 –Elected Chairman of Brooklyn College Art Department.
– Appointed Professor Emeritus
1991 – Retired from teaching at Brooklyn College.
PAINTING EXHIBITIONS
1950 – Paintings shown in the Contemporary Arts Gallery, New York City. (1950-1961.)
1956 – Brooklyn Artists Biennial Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY.
1957 – New Jersey Statewide Exhibition (Honorable Mention), Old Mill Art Association,
Tinton Falls, NJ.
– Mills College of Education Gallery (selection by Ad Reinhardt), New York City.
1958 – New Jersey Independent Artists, Newark Museum, NJ.
– Woodstock Artists Association Exhibit, Woodstock, NY.
– New Jersey State Exhibition, Montclair Art Museum, NJ.
– Metropolitan Young Artists Show, New York City.
1959 – First one-man exhibition, at Hall Memorial Gallery, Montclair NJ.
– Brooklyn College Alumni Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, NY.
– One-man exhibition at Barry’s Art Gallery, Elizabeth, NJ.
1960 – One-man exhibition at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
1961 – Painting exhibition at Westerly Gallery, New York City.
1963 – One-man exhibition in at Westerly Gallery, New York City.
1967 – One-man exhibition in at Salpeter Gallery, New York City.
1972 – First (of four) one-man show at Green Mountain Gallery, New York City.
– Maine Coast Artists, Rockport, Maine.
1973 – Published in the book A Sense of Place – The Artist and the American Land (written and curated by Alan Gussow). Full-page color reproduction.
– Four separate “Sense of Place” painting exhibitions touring the U.S.
1974 – Second one-man show at Green Mountain Gallery, New York City.
– “New Images” Queens Museum, New York.
– Painting exhibition at Landmark Gallery, New York City.
1975 – “Self Portraits By Well-Known Artists” exhibition at Prince Street Gallery, New York City.
– “Dodd-Groell-Gelber” 3-person exhibition at Rice University, Houston, TX and Summit Arts Center, Summit, NJ.
– “New Images”, Squibb Gallery, Princeton, New Jersey.
– Painting exhibition at Landmark Gallery, New York City.
1976 – Third one-man show at Green Mountain Gallery, New York City.
1979 – Fourth one-man show at Green Mountain Gallery, New York City.
– One-man exhibition at Suffolk County State College, Selden, NY.
1980 – “Invitational” exhibition at Artfellows Gallery, Belfast, ME.
1982 – “Invitational” exhibition at Artfellows Gallery, Belfast, ME.
1983 – One-man exhibition at Board of Higher Education, New York City.
1984 – “Invitational” exhibition at Artfellows Gallery, Belfast, ME.
1987 – “Invitational” exhibition at Artfellows Gallery, Belfast, ME.
1995 – “Brooklyn Meets Manhattan” exhibition at Images Gallery, New York City.
1996-97 – Exhibition at the Gold/Smith Gallery, Boothbay Harbor, ME.
1998 – One-man show “Samuel Gelber: Transitions 1971-1998” at Maine Coast Artists, Rockport, ME.
– Group exhibition at the Caldbeck Gallery, Rockland, ME.
2000 – “Eloquent Objects, The Sense and Sensibilities of Still Life Painting”, exhibition at Bates College Museum, Lewiston, ME.
2001 – One-man show in the Great Hall of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME.
– One-man show “Samuel Gelber: Smaller Paintings” exhibition at Elements Gallery, Rockland, ME.
– Group show at Camden Falls Gallery, Rockland, ME.
2001-02 – One-man show “Samuel Gelber: The Seasons Suite” huge painting exhibit at Farnsworth Museum, Rockland, ME.
2002 – One-man show “Samuel Gelber: Retrospective” at Phoenix Loft Gallery, Belfast, ME.
– CMCA 50th Anniversary “Past, Present and Future” show at Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME.
– One-man show “Samuel Gelber: The Liberated Landscape: The Whole 12 Yards” at The Hay Gallery, Portland, ME.
2003 – One-man show “Samuel Gelber: Ongoing Explorations” painting exhibition at the Lincoln Street Arts Center, Rockland, ME.
2004 – “Invitational: Inland on the Edge” painting exhibition at Downtown Gallery, Washington, ME.
– “Samuel Gelber: Books and Journals” exhibition at Nan Mulford Gallery, Rockland, ME.
2005 – One-man show “Cubist Panorama: Earth Water Air Fire” Exhibition of 36-foot painting at Lincoln Street Center, Rockland, ME.
2005-06 – “Overcoat after Gogol” stage sets for Kirov Ballet, at Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg and Bolshoi Theater, Moscow, Russia.
2006 – One-man show “Still-Life” exhibition at Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME.
– “Contemporary Print Making” exhibition at Maine Art Gallery, Wiscasset, ME.
2007 – One-man show “21-18-12” exhibition of 21-foot, 18-foot and 12-foot paintings at Lincoln Street Center, Rockland, ME.
2008 – Group show at Aarhus Gallery, Belfast, ME.
2009 – Group show at Elan Fine Arts, Rockport, ME.
– Group show at Landmark Gallery, Rockland, ME.
2010 – “Evolution of a Gallery” exhibition at Blue Mountain Gallery, New York City.
2015 – Gallery Artists exhibition at Yvette Torres Gallery, Rockland, ME.
2016 – One-man show “Embracing Change” at Yvette Fine Art, Rockland, ME.
Phillip Isaacson has commented; “his works of art will touch you with the beauty of their craft and their intellectuality and their sustained aesthetic intensity. There is a confidence about them that is almost a challenge to the room…. Gelber is a master with paint.”