Francois Stahly, edited by Walter Herdeg, introduction by Carola Giedion-Welcker (New York: Wittenborn & Co.), 1963. 83 pages, illustrated.
A HANDSOME BOOK, broadly presenting the many phases of Stahly’s career in a series of excellent photographs.
Stahly’s work in conjunction with architectural commissions is among his most interesting. If the writhing, organic shapes of some of his fountains lose some of their impact in being fountains, the force of his forms become even more intensified in those commissions where he is permitted to work in a more integrated way with the architect. The stucco wall, for example, in the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, Vatican Pavilion, at the 1958 Brussels Fair, the relief windows in the Church of St. Remy at Baccarat, Lorraine, and the aluminum facade for the “Paris-Match” pavilion exhibited in the Salon des Arts Ménagers, Paris, 1955, are striking examples.
The book excellently illustrates Stahly’s ability to work well in many media, and if he has a tendency to somewhat torture wood, he is completely respectful of the properties of stone and metal. The total effect is of a thorough survey of the work of a very accomplished artist.
