Maine Art Gallery

This watercolor study of a stream in Jefferson, Maine, in 1963, became Ledges and Stream, 1964, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches. It anticipates the Ledge and Falls paintings in the 1970s and early 1980s during Fiore’s visits with Artists for Environment in the Delaware Water Gap. This is just one example of how Joe’s experience in Maine translated more broadly throughout his maturing career.

"Fiore returned to abstraction; however, there was a difference. Fiore’s paintings became symbolist, strewn throughout as they were with hieroglyphics and markings that summoned ancient cultures. He also recognized the power that seasonal and heavenly events (eclipses, solstices and so on) held for these prehistoric peoples. This is arguably his most interesting period. A painting like “Solar Eclipse,” created five years before his death, is about as perfect a painting as one can have. " Jorge Arango, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, August 3, 2025.