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“This is nothing compared to what is taking place in the world” -- Jerome Gastaldi, who lost 50 years of work in a fire at his Fallbrook studio on March 20 (photo courtesy Villa con Cuore studio)East County News Service
March 31, 2026 (Fallbrook) -- Contemporary American artist Jerome Gastaldi on March 20 lost his primary studio in Fallbrook, as well as more than 50 years of his own art and collected pieces of other artists' works in a sudden fire at his studio property, Villa con Cuore.
The fire at the 2500 block of Los Alisos S. Drive destroyed Gastaldi's paint studio, welding and print studios, library, gallery storage and a lifetime of collected works — many exhibited publicly over the years.
Gastaldi, a native of Fresno, is known for his decades of work exhibited in museums, universities and public venues, and also known for 30 years worth of creating every piece of art in Yard House Restaurants nationwide.
Despite the scale of the loss, Gastaldi offered a message of reflection.
“At nearly 81 years old, I can say with certainty — we are not taking any of it with us. That is real. That is truth,” he said.
Gastaldi highlighted the extraordinary response from others.
“Friends and neighbors showed up immediately to help,” he said. “Calls came from across the US, Canada, Europe and as far away as Cape Town. People are extraordinary. We are meant to care for one another.”
Founder of the Modern Art Museum in Santa Ana, Gastaldi in the 1980s hosted exhibits that included the paintings of David Hockney, Gerhard Richter and Rufino Tamayo. He was also the director and owner of FACT Gallery in Laguna Beach, displaying the works of local artists and exhibitions of European masters, Graffiti art and American POP art, including Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Keith Hering and Sam Franci.
Gastaldi is also a published author, penning "Keep an Eye on Your Soul," in 2010, and "Art & Reality" (under the name Robert J. Abbott), in 1997.
He placed this personal loss within a larger global context.
“In the grand scheme this is nothing. Gastaldi said. “All over the world, people are losing homes, loved ones, entire communities. War, firestorms,suffering—this is real, and it matters. And honestly, my loss is nothing compared to what’s happening to people across the globe.”
He added, “I believe the only thing that can truly change the direction the world is faith—guided by truth. No preaching — but I do believe the Kingdom of Heaven is within. We just have to find it.”
While the studio was lost, the main gallery at Villa con Cuore survived. The remaining works are available for viewing online.
“I lost 50 years of work,” Gastaldi said, “but I am still here. And that means there’s still something to share, and that is what the world needs now more than ever.”
It’s all about hope, he said.
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