ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings and drawings reflect an exploration of the natural world infused with expressive color and constructed from observation dynamics. What is seen on site vs. what I photograph vs. the emotion and memory of the moment are key to my process. I seek to portray some of these intersections when working through themes of nature’s resilience and decay, transient beauty, and her profound emotional resonance through the seasons. What frequently attracts me are easily overlooked trees or organic formations: the forgotten ones, the fallen or dying, or detritus in the natural world. They can be seen as sentient beings who reflect nature’s myriad responses to change, whether remarkable survival instincts, an inevitable failure to thrive or stoic perseverance.
To me their state of being is a symbolic enmeshment of well established and/or emerging societal, political, and historical dynamics, woven together with threads of organic change. They are our witnesses to history, testaments to what once was and predictors of what is to come.
“Cypress Knees”: Scores of cypress knees wander in and out of the SC swamps, their evocative and mysterious shapes rising like the souls of the indigenous and enslaved peoples who traversed that difficult terrain. Remarkably, their botanical reason for existence remains unknown.
“Standing Dead 2”: A tribute to one of many in Katterskill, NY that remain.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
One of my strongest early memories is watching my mother paint in oils, next to the basement stairs in our house. The smell of the materials, the light and shadows, and the quiet have always stayed with me. She remains my role model and heroine today. Until 2021, my creative life was defined by a graphic design career lasting four decades, with my own personal art work tucked in around the edges. My design roles included freelancing, running a graphic design business for 15 years, and corporate work as an art director and creative director. In the last 3+ years I have done a deep dive into my own artwork using acrylics, gouache and charcoal, based on my treasured time observing and photographing the natural world. I have participated in 3 open studios in my Roslindale, MA neighborhood, had 2 solo shows in Boston, participated in group shows in Boston and Harvard, MA, Woodstock, NY. Currently some of my work can be seen at the Moyshen Gallery in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Full immersion in Woodstock, NY and Summerville, SC residencies enriched my practice and provided significant signposts on my road. Recent work includes acrylic gouache paintings from a visit to San Miguel de Allende, some based on hikes through El Charco de del Indigeno, a botanical garden and cacti sanctuary. I am committed to giving back; proceeds are pushed into efforts to help feed community, support climate change research and outreach, and help insure women’s reproductive rights.
© Freda Shapiro