ARTIST STATEMENT:
It was nothing more than an obstacle.
The building I had circled on my bike for two summers was a wide and squat granite temple, sitting on the edge of Delaware Lake in Buffalo. It loomed there with its’ columns and fountain, and was surrounded by finely manicured lawns which were perfect for rolling around on, lying in the sun, or dreaming.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery housed a collection which was ninety-five percent abstract. Inside were white walls and the masters of modernism displayed with a reverence I had seen only in churches. I was allowed to wander alone among the most bizarre objects I had ever seen, and spent much of that summer in those rooms, trying to decipher the strange mysteries on the walls. The tortured images mirrored life outside, and yet somehow, contained all that chaos within a quiet space on the wall.
Communication, as such, is often limited to an expressible idea, but there is so much in human experience that can only be felt or conveyed by an eloquent gesture or symbolic act. We turn to symbols when words fail, and for experiences which have eluded description: the nature of God; the forces which shape and sustain the earth; miraculous occurrences which have fueled the history of myth and fable; and rituals which have given our daily existence a richness and mystery.
I believe that a painting which is thoughtful and well-crafted will never be discarded and will eventually find its’ way to the light.
My hope is that someone will find solace and inspiration in the work that I have made, and that this exchange may dissipate some of the fog that surrounds our daily existence, as it did for me.
Walter Frederick
Exhibitions
1980 International Cultural Institute, Los Angeles
1984 Capricorn Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1985 Allied Artists, New York
American Figure Drawing, San Francisco
1988 Lake Gallery, Tahoe
1989 Image Gallery, San Francisco
1992 Tesori Gallery, San Mateo
Robyn Buntin Gallery, Honolulu
Bay Arts, San Francisco
New Ground Gallery, Montclair
Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City
Michael Thompson Gallery, San Francisco
1993 Tesori Gallery, San Mateo
Robyn Buntin Gallery, Honolulu
Bay Arts, San Francisco
Michael Thompson, San Francisco
1994-1996
Hermitage Gallery, Reno
Tesori Gallery, San Mateo
Michael Thompson, San Francisco
1997 Hermitage Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Michael Thompson Gallery, San Francisco
Museum West, San Francisco & Palo Alto
1998-2002
Museum West, San Francisco & Palo Alto
2002-2005
Chandler Fine Arts, San Francisco
2005 Borgia Gallery, San Francisco
2006-2013
Chandler Fine Arts, San Francisco
2013 Los Angeles Art Association , Los Angeles
2016-2020, Art for Art, St.Petersburg
°Co-Founder
Phoenix Arts Association, San Francisco, 1984
…non-profit foundation for theater and visual arts, which continues in operation today
Teaching
Beginning in 1989, continuously until 1995, taught three separate courses at
The San Francisco School of Art
Figure Drawing
Painting
Anatomy for Artists
The program was full time and provided accredited courses in Fine Art which focused on the accurate portrayal of the human figure and thorough comprehension of the body and its’ movement in space. The anatomy course was taught through lecture, demonstration and close instruction during live model sessions.
Other
Art for Art
1990-2024
Developed and maintained a facility in San Francisco for the production of gilded picture frames, and for conservation and restoration of works on paper and canvas.
Specialized in original and reproduction designs of water and oil gilded frames
Provided archival preservation of drawings, prints and paintings.
Worked primarily with designers, artists, and collectors to preserve, protect and install collections of
fine art. Including my own.
Education
B.F.A. 1978, M.F.A. 1980, Academy of Art college, San Francisco
Private Study
Thomas Leighton, San Francisco
Pietro Annigoni, Florence, Italy….. 1978
Serge Ivanoff, Paris, France….. 1978, 1980
Awards
Fulbright Foundation, …..1979
Salmagundi Award, …..1985