Douglass Freed: Reflection...Noitcelfer

DOUGLASS FREED Reflection...Noitcelfer

bruno david gallery

DOUGLASS FREED Reflection...Noitcelfer March 2-25, 2017 Bruno David Gallery 7513 Forsyth Boulevard Saint Louis, 63105 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition DOUGLASS FREED: REFLECTION...NOITCELFER Editor: Bruno L. David Catalog Designer: Yihuang Lu and Peter Finley Design Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Douglass Freed Cover image: Autume Blue Band, (detail) 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm) First Edition Copyright © 2017 Bruno David Gallery, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery, Inc.

CONTENTS

A CONVERSATION Douglass Freed and Bruno L. David POEM

by Larry Melton AFTERWORD

by Bruno L. David CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY

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A conversation with Douglass Freed 2

Bruno L. David: For many years you have been known for your large scale multipaneled paintings, diptych’s, and triptych’s. In this exhibition, you have not included any of these.

Douglass Freed: For the last two years I have been focused on making single panel works. Intentionally scaling down the size of my paintings. This exhibition contains eighteen of these smaller works. The largest of these are 36 x 32 inches and the smallest of them are 20 x 16 inches. I wanted to try making small paintings which I have rarely done in the past. The diptychs and triptychs allowed me to do very large works, eight feet and larger. Emerson Electric here in St Louis owns a triptych which is 9 x 29 feet. These large paintings were about changing time and light that shows one panel of day light and the second panel of evening light. In this body of work each painting is its own time. This series is made up of night fall and morning light paintings with titles designating so. Moving to smaller works has allowed me to create more individual paintings. Of course, it doesn’t take nearly the time to do. This has been a freeing exercise in my practice.

BD: For much of your early career you made non-objective paintings. When and why did you start creating landscapes?

DF: From graduate school throughout the seventies and eighties until 1995 I was known for my elaborately constructed multipaneled painted structures. These were very minimalist works of large fields of color with structured elements. I showed these paintings in galleries in New York City, St. Louis, Chicago, San Francisco, and Kansas City. About 1995 I started to recognize elements suggesting recognizable imagery of clouds, trees, and water in the paintings. I allowed very abstract elements to emerge from the amorphous fields. For the first time, my work became about landscape and continues to be so ever since. I think the first half of my career as an abstract artist infused my landscapes which are abstractions of the seen world.

BD: What are your sources?

DF: I use photographs I have taken on various travels as my principle sources. My paintings have little to do with trying to capture the shots but use them for color reference and structure. My paintings are quiet, intuitive and to a great extent, about my process.

I begin the paintings by working very loosely to establish color and composition. At this stage, the paintings look very impressionist.

After covering the canvas with a mediated paint body establishing color areas and structure with landscape composition I then use large six-inch-wide brushes dragging the paint in horizontal and vertical directions across the surface of the whole canvas, in so doing, destroying the impressionist surface, making it a more monolithic, simplified, unified blend of the heavily mediated paint. Then, I spend time recreating the imagery of the painting. This process gives me the softly modeled meditative spiritual melancholy I am striving for.

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Written by Larry Melton on seeing Doug Freed’s painting Midday Reflections Emerald, 2016.

15, September 2016

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REFLECTION...NOITCELFER

For when art speaks to our minds and also, our souls by ineffably allowing us infallibly to know

As I peer at your painting I float down the stream past the paint to a path, in ethereal dream.

I’m on the other side rediscovering a Truth that when life was exciting and hopeful in youth

Now this Truth is apparent in your Midday Emerald Reflections for there’s peace all around beyond our petty distractions.

I’m often reminded that works of our hands inform and inspire, and through art I am lifted to a place that is higher.

depths of Truth that aren’t known by mere erudition but are clearly revealed through artful rendition.

I stood by a creek skipping rocks on a pond and was at peace with the world and eager to go on.

AFTERWORD

by Bruno L. David

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I am pleased to present an exhibition titled “Reflection…Noitcelfer” by Douglass Freed at the Bruno David Gallery. This is the artist’ second solo exhibition with the gallery.

The landscapes of Douglass Freed can seldom be contained to one canvas. His minimalistic and almost ambiguous images of horizons, clouds, and bodies of water pour onto adjoining spaces where their forms shift in color and light as if they have transformed into entirely different pieces, but they remain undeniably suited to one another. While his pieces vary from quiet, monochromatic works to fully orchestrated chromatic ones, in either sense, he creates places that simultaneously imply reality and a dreamlike, even spiritual, serenity. He captures and holds onto the viewer’s gaze, creating an experience that few can. Through his harmonious use of blended color, texture, and structure, Freed finds the grey area between traditional landscape painting and its abstraction into color fields.

Douglass Freed lives and works in Missouri. He received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas and is a nationally exhibiting artist with over fifty solo exhibitions. He has had work published in over sixty reviews and publications including The New York Times, The New York Art Review, The New Art Examiner, Art in America, Arts Magazine, Kansas City Review, Kansas City Star, The St. Louis Tribune, and New American Paintings.

Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Lary Melton for his beautiful poem and to Douglass for allowing me to include our conversation for this publication. I am deeply grateful to Yihuang Lu and Peter Finley, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Cleo Azariadis, Ashley Lee, Xizi Liu, Charis Schneider, Yihuang Lu, and Paula Stevenson.

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CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

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Autume Blue Band, 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm)

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Spring Streams Emerald, 2016 Oil on canvas 20.5 x 16 inches (52.1 x 40.6 cm)

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Autumn Reflections, 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm)

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Spring Lavender, 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm)

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Autume Surface, 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm)

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Autumn Dance, 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm)

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Fall Reflections, 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm)

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Morning Light, Spring, 2016 Oil on canvas 36 x 32 inches (91.4 x 81.3 cm)

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Nightfall Silver #2, 2016 Oil on canvas 36 x 32 inches (91.4 x 81.3 cm)

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Fall Light, 2016 Oil on canvas 20.5 x 16 inches (52.1 x 40.6 cm)

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Spring Streams Chartreuse, 2016 Oil on canvas 20.5 x 16 inches (52.1 x 40.6 cm)

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Morning Light, Reflection, 2016 Oil on canvas 36 x 32 inches (91.4 x 81.3 cm)

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Spring Ochre, 2016 Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches (81.3 x 61 cm)

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Winter Fog, 2016 Oil on canvas 20.5 x 16 inches (52.1 x 40.6 cm)

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Summer Reflections, 2016 Oil on canvas 20.5 x 16 inches (52.1 x 40.6 cm)

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DOUGLASS FREED: Reflective...Noitcelfer (installation view)

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DOUGLASS FREED: Reflective...Noitcelfer (installation view)

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DOUGLASS FREED Lives and works in Missouri

EDUCATION M.A. B.F.A.

1968, Fort Hays, Kansas State University 1967, Fort Hays, Kansas State University

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017

2016 2015 2013

2012 2011

2009

2008 2007

2006

Doug Freed, Reflection...Noitcelfer, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO (catalogue) Reflections, Haden Liberty Center for the Arts, Sedalia, MO Ocean paintings, Etra Fine Art, Miami, FL Night Fall-Morning Rise, Mary Martin Fine Art, Charleston, SC Reflective Landscapes, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO (catalogue) Doug Freed, Aberson Exhibits, Tulsa, OK Doug Freed, Large Paintings, Etra Fine Art, Miami, FL Douglass Freed, Paintings, Mary Martin Fine Art, Charleston, SC Light Sequent, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO Douglass Freed, Paintings, 1973-2010, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO Douglass Freed, Anne Loucks Gallery, Chicago, IL Dean Day Gallery, Houston, TX Light, Color, Atmosphere, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO Douglass Freed, Anne Loucks Gallery, Glencoe, IL Dreamscapes, Micaela Gallery, San Francisco, CA Large Canvases, Etra Fine Art, Miami, FL Douglass Freed, Anne Loucks Gallery, Glencoe, IL

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2006 2005

2004

2003

2002

2000

1999

1998 1997

1996

1995 1994 1993 1992

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Dreamscapes, Mary Martin Fine Art, Charleston, SC Spoleto Arts Festival, Mary Martin Fine Art, Charleston, SC Revisited Landscape, Etra Fine Art, Miami, FL Time Passages, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO Douglass Freed, Paintings, Lanoue Fine Art, Boston, MA Basil Miami, Patrona Frau/Etra Fine Arts, Miami, FL Newwork, Olsen-Larsen Galleries, West Des Moines, IA Douglass Freed Introduction, R. Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO Douglass Freed, Steinway Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC Works on Canvas and Paper, Walnut Street Gallery, Springfield, MO Douglass Freed, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO Douglass Freed, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA Douglass Freed, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO Monumental Landscapes, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO Douglass Freed Monumental Landscapes, Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS Douglass Freed, Oils on Paper, Steinway Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC Douglass Freed, New Paintings, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK Landscapes, Steinway Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC Sky/Land/Water, Leedy Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, MO Horizons and Vistas, Walnut Street Gallery, Springfield, MO Steel Wall Structures, Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY Oil on Canvas Structures, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA Monumental Structures and Landscapes, Goddard Gallery, Stauffacher Center for the Fine Arts, Sedalia, MO Oil Paintings, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO New Steel Sculptures, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO Herr-Chambliss Fine Arts, Hot Springs National Park, Hot Springs, AK Leedy Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO New Steel Wall Structures, Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO Douglass Freed, Recent Paintings, University of Missouri, Museum of Art and Archaeology, Columbia, MO

1992 1990 1988

1988

1986 1985

1984

1983

1982

1981

1980

1979

1977 1976

1975

Art for Life, Works on Paper, University Hospital, Columbia, MO Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA Acrylic on Paper Works, Lincoln College, Lincoln, IL Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY State Fair Community College, Sedalia, MO Elliot Smith Gallery, St. Louis, MO Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY St. Louis Design Center, arranged by Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, MO Doug Freed, Summer Invitational, Zolla /Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL Batz/Lawrence Gallery, Kansas City, MO Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, MO Emporia State University, Norman R. Eppink Art Gallery, Emporia, KS Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY Batz Gallery, Kansas City, MO Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA University of Missouri Kansas City, Kemper Gallery, Kansas City, MO Vorpal Gallery, Mini-Exhibit, Gallery 2, New York, NY Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY Art Research Center, Kansas City, MO Vorpal Gallery, New York, NY Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO 7th East 7th Gallery, Lawrence, KS Johnson County Community College, Kansas City, KS Park Central Gallery, Springfield, MO Angerer Gallery, Kansas City, MO

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SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

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Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AK Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO Emporia State University, Norman R. Eppink Art Gallery, Emporia, KS Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, KS Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS Kansas State University, College of Architecture and Design, Manhattan, KS Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO Lincoln College, Lincoln, IL Newark Museum, Newark, NJ St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO State Fair Community College, Sedalia, MO University of Missouri, Museum of Art and Archaeology, Columbia, MO University of Missouri, Memorial Union Collection, Columbia, MO Washington University, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, MO Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS

SELECTED CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

American Century Mutual Funds, Kansas City, MO American Family Doctors, National Headquarters, Kansas City, MO Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO Bank of Olathe, Olathe, KS Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Missouri, St. Louis, MO Boone County Bank, Columbia, MO Cessna Aircraft Corporation, Wichita, KS City of Komoro, Komoro, Japan D & W Leasing, Sedalia, MO Emprise Bank, Wichita, KS 1st National Bank, Rockford, IL FBL Financial Group, West Des Moines, IA H&R Block Inc. Corporation, Kansas City, MO Hallmark Cards Inc., Kansas City, MO Hewlett Packard Corporation, St. Louis, MO Insituform Mid-America, Inc., St. Louis, MO Landmark Bank, Madill, OK McGraw Hill Publishing Co., New York, NY Mark Twain Bank, Creve Coeur, MO Mark Twain Bank Shares, Ladue, MO Maytag, Newton, IA Municipal Collection, Jászberény, Hungary Parks & Recreation Department, Columbia, MO Pella Corporation, Pella, IA Pioneer Hybrid, Des Moines, IA Southern Progress, Birmingham, AL Sprint Corporation, Kansas City, MO Stillwater National Bank, Tulsa, OK

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United Telephone Systems, Inc., Kansas City, MO University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, MO University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, KS Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO Fort Smith Public Library, Fort Smith, AK Fresenius Medical Care North America, Waltham, MA Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, CA Hoechst Marion Roussel, Kansas City, MO KEO Building Corporation, Sedalia, MO Publishing Enterprises, Inc., Sedalia, MO Ritz Carlton Hotel, Laguna, CA Sachs Properties, St. Louis, MO Septagon Industries, Sedalia, MO

SELECTED PUBLIC COMMISSIONS

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Deloitte & Touche, St. Louis, MO Emerson Electric, St. Louis, MO Federal Reserve Bank, Kansas City, MO Fort Smith Public Library, Fort Smith, AK Fresenius Medical Care North America, Waltham, MA Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, CA Hoechst Marion Roussel, Kansas City, MO KEO Building Corporation, Sedalia, MO Publishing Enterprises, Inc., Sedalia, MO Ritz Carlton Hotel, Laguna, CA Sachs Properties, St. Louis, MO Septagon Industries, Sedalia, MO

AWARDS, GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND APPOINTMENTS 2007

2005 2003 1993 1992 1990 1987 1984 1981

1980

1978 1981 1980

1978

Mid-America Arts Alliance Board Missouri Arts Award for Leadership in the Arts Missouri Senate Proclamation, Missouri House of Representatives Resolution Star Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, Liberty Center Association for the Arts Art in Embassy Program, American Embassy, Dakar, Senegal Site Specific Sculpture Installation Grant, Office of Cultural Affairs, Columbia, MO Visiting Artist, Fine Arts Building, Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, MO Creative Artist Project Grant, Missouri Arts Council Design Arts Special Project Grant, National Endowment for the Arts Missouri Arts Council Board, Gubernatorial Appointment Missouri Advocates for the Arts, board member; through 1984 Visual Arts Professional Advisory Committee, Missouri Council on the Arts; through 1983 Visual Artist Grant, Mid-America Arts Alliance, The National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Residency Grant, Missouri State Council on the Arts Rotary International Fellowship Group Study Exchange to Italy Visual Arts Professional Advisory Committee, Missouri Council on the Arts; through 1983 Visual Artist Grant, Mid-America Arts Alliance, The National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Residency Grant, Missouri State Council on the Arts Rotary International Fellowship Group Study Exchange to Italy

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ARTISTS Laura Beard Heather Bennett Lisa K. Blatt Michael Byron Bunny Burson Judy Child Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Damon Freed Douglass Freed Ellen Jantzen

Michael Jantzen Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Xizi Liu Kahlil Irving Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey Yvonne Osei Patricia Olynyk Gary Passanise Judy Pfaff

Charles P. Reay Daniel Raedeke Tom Reed Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Shane Simmons Buzz Spector Cindy Tower Ann Wimsatt Monika Wulfers

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