In 2017, Caleb Stoltzfus went to Spain where he honed his painterly realism under the tutelage of Russian-born artist Daud Akhriev. The experience would have a profound effect on his philosophies and perspective.

Back home in Philadelphia, Stoltzfus and his wife would visit her parents outside the city, where he became increasingly intrigued by an old farm down the street from their house. The Rat King, oil on linen, 33 x 18"“After traveling abroad and living in Spain I started to see the farm as a very particular place,” he says. “I began to think about the difference between what makes something special in Europe as opposed to here. 

“The farm became a place where I was finding myself in the sense that I was trying to figure out what about America was interesting to me or defined me. Everything about it was a physical representation of Americana but with more personality because it was being kept up by these farmers, as a labor of love. That became a starting point of finding subject matter that spoke to the particulars of who I was.”Centennial, oil on linen, 56 x 56"

For three consecutive winters, Stoltzfus made the one hour drive to the farm to paint on site nearly every single day. He found that the commute—the solitude, watching the urban world give way to the rural—enhanced his perception of the farm. 

“Visually, there’s a harshness to it,” he says. “Everything is practical; everything has a use. The architectural edges have a harshness; even the peeling paint is somehow reminiscent of the harshness, or ruggedness, of American culture. I realized that was a part of myself that was important to me and that I was proud of.”

For Stoltzfus, the farm had become a place of metaphors. Its survival, despite being surrounded by an encroaching suburban development, symbolized the same resiliency of spirit often associated with what it means to be American.Shape Shifter, oil on linen, 26 x 32"Those three years yielded 20 pieces, but Stoltzfus was only satisfied with 12 that became the series Walt’s Farm, several of which will be featured in his solo exhibition at Gross McCleaf Gallery, along with a dozen-plus newer works in which Stoltzfus further explores the contradictory nature of coexistence.

Two years ago, Stoltzfus and his wife became live-in caretakers of a historic mansion within Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park that operates as a museum providing tours to the public. He knew it was steeped in rich subject matter but felt if he started painting it prematurely the work would feel artificial.

But when his daughter was born a year ago, he found it more difficult to make it into the studio so he had no choice but to start painting the property, whether he felt ready or not. Unlike the first discarded depictions of the farm, he found himself pleased with his output early on. Coda, oil on linen, 12 x 14"

“What makes it interesting is, it’s a summer home built in the country that is now in the city,” he explains. “It has a white picket fence, a perfectly curated atmosphere, beautiful lighting, displays you can’t touch. Then, in an instant there will be a police chase right out front, a helicopter searchlight overhead, or a group of cars doing donuts down the road—one of which crashed into a tree and caught fire, and was left in the park for days. It’s an idyllic place that came become suddenly very urban.”

Stoltzfus continues, “One of the most interesting things I learned from the farm is how painting can bring things together that don’t feel like they belong together. You can put a porcelain bowl next to a car that just exploded, and then they coexist and are in conversation with one another. That’s what makes it visually interesting—objects that don’t necessarily belong together being together. There’s so much of that in life—it’s really what life is.”Monument Road, mixed media, 14½ x 10"Stoltzfus also takes a philosophical approach to medium. “Paint is a physical material that is trying to be a window through itself. I don’t want the paint to simply be a window on a surface. I want it to be about the image and the paint itself.”

These notions opened up a new avenue of experimentation for Stoltzfus, examples of which will also be on display in his show at Gross McCleaf. 

When the oil painter was at work on a graffiti-covered work truck on a pristine linen canvas, it didn’t sit right with him. The medium felt too elevated for the subject so he decided to introduce less formal materials, settling on ordinary pieces of cardboard that transformed his flat canvases into bas reliefs that have more dimensionality than a painting and less than a sculpture.Longshore Drift, oil on mounted linen, 30 x 48"“It just felt right,” he says. “[Creating] reliefs, both the material and the three-dimensionality, expressed an idea I’ve been trying to express better than I’d been able to do in paint.”

Stoltzfus also started experimenting with different materials because he was feeling some paralysis toward creating the body of work for his upcoming show. “Standing before this beautiful linen canvas I had stretched, I felt a responsibility to create something worthy of the show, the medium and the canvas,” he shares. “Turning to cruder, more casual materials helped me relax.” Dealer’s Choice, oil on linen, 16 x 22"(Ironically, he has since replaced his cardboard boxes with an archival acid-free product that is nearly as expensive as his canvases). 

Stoltzfus has been working on the body of work for this show for two years. “It’s my first solo show at Gross McCleaf and my first solo show in five years. It is a big deal for me and certainly a great honor to be among the other great artists they represent.”

An opening reception will be held Saturday, February 4 from 1 to 4 p.m.  —
Gross McCleaf Gallery
127 S. 16th Street Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 665-8138
www.grossmccleaf.com 

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