Linden Frederick: American Studies

New York, NY October 29, 2008 – Linden Frederick will exhibit American Studies, a series comprising nearly fifty 12 ¼ x 12 ¼ inch oil paintings. Frederick’s subjects are drawn from his experience as he traveled the United States by bicycle, train and bus; observing the country in it’s most subtle and liminal moments. The exhibition will take place at Forum Gallery, New York from Thursday, November 13, 2008 through Saturday, January 3, 2009.

Conceived by the artist more than two years ago, American Studies is a panorama of individual scene paintings that express and elicit complex feelings without the need for narrative. Frederick has chosen to paint those images he feels depict the mood of the nation. His paintings portray locations that could easily be anywhere, despite their completely realistic origins. His buildings are at once austere in their solitude, and welcoming in the warmth of the suggested life within.

Noticeably devoid of human figures, it is light – from within a motor inn or home, or the colored cast from the shift of the sun – that is the protagonist in these paintings. The artist emphasizes that the original location that inspired each painting is not important: all of these images are at once recognizable, relatable, and uniquely descriptive of the culture of America.

As he travels, Frederick makes notes about his surroundings: these photographs and handwritten observations inform his decisions when he returns to his studio to paint. Although Frederick has created his large-scale paintings by first working on studies in small format, the works in American Studies are finished and completed artworks.