Kim Frohsin
Selected Figures from the 1990s
March 15 - May 10, 2025
Foreword
The legacy of the Bay Area Figurative Movement is a phenomenon still radiating from the artists in the 1950s and 1960s that put it on the map – David Park, Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, William Theophilus Brown, Paul Wonner, Nathan Oliviera, Bruce McGaw, Manuel Neri, and Joan Brown being the best known of them. For some of these artists, the emergence of the figure was a reaction against the orthodoxy and ideological supremacy of the Abstract Expressionist painting style then dominating American art, and especially the version being put forth by Clyfford Still at the California School of Fine Arts (later known as the San Francisco art Institute). For others, their desire was to combine the loose brushwork and thickly applied paint of abstract expressionism with recognizable imagery to create a new way of painting what they saw around them. Still others had their own reasons, but regardless of the impetus, each of the artists from this early period created their own unique version of the figurative style and, in sum, gave birth to a lasting aesthetic movement that still resonates today.
As the decades have progressed since, numerous artists have taken up the figurative style and explored their own aesthetic territory within it. Among them is Kim Frohsin, who was hailed as a third generation within the tradition when her first figurative paintings were exhibited in the early 1990s. Like the members of the first and second generations of the movement, Frohsin drew inspiration from the people and events in her everyday life for her compositions, and at times hints of biography infused themselves within her works. Over the course of a little less than a decade in which she worked in the style, Frohsin’s paintings became less depictions of precise moments she was seeing in real life, and more about the blending together of elements from different origins to make each composition. This evolution allowed Frohsin to both expand the figurative tradition and make her contribution to it truly her own.
This exhibition is the first to look back at this period of Kim Frohsin’s career and was made possible by the discovery in her archives of a trove of works she had forgotten about, some of which have never been exhibited before. With the distance of time and the perspective of knowing how her work and career would evolve, we can begin to view them critically in a new way. They are formative works and part of Frohsin’s first mature body of work. But, more importantly, looking closely we can see the seeds that would later grow into the series that emerged in the following decades. I give my deepest thanks to Kim Frohsin for agreeing to let us show these works and for engaging in the deep discussions they brought forth.
In the following pages, you will find an essay by the writer and painter John Seed that delves into Kim Frohsin’s first brushes with figuration and how she came to embrace the style. I am very thankful to John Seed for agreeing to put together his thoughts about Kim Frohsin’s works in such an eloquent way for this catalogue.
Lastly, I wish to thank the Paul Thiebaud Gallery team – Colleen Casey, Matthew Miller, and Gregory Hemming – for all of their hard work and dedication, without which this exhibition and catalogue would not have been possible. Thank you.
Greg Flood, Director April
2025
Kim Frohsin: Halcyon Days
by John Seed
Kim Frohsin’s paintings from the 1990s, which she thinks of as “bright and pure,” are reminders of her halcyon days. These engaging figurative works were painted in the hiatus between historic disasters – after the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 and before the terror attacks of 9/11. It was a productive period when Frohsin felt loved, had a great dog, traveled often, and was growing cultural roots in the San Francisco terroir. After turning 30 in 1991, Frohsin surfed a decade-long wave of good fortune, building a successful career and finding her reputation burnished by association with the legacy of Bay Area Figuration.
Frohsin, who studied in France and San Diego before enrolling in San Francisco’s Academy of Art College in 1987, already had some favorite artists—including Egon Schiele, Philip Guston and Henri Matisse—and while living in the Bay Area her personal list grew. She discovered Wayne Thiebaud, then Jay DeFeo, and encountered the works of the Bay Area Figurative Moverment’s first generation, among them David Park, Elmer Bischoff and Richard Diebenkorn. She met Diebenkorn, who was in a wheelchair when she encountered him at SFMOMA in 1993, just before he passed away. During that same year, Frohsin met and showed with three other local legends— Manuel Neri, Stephen De Staebler, and Nathan Oliveira—in a group show at the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis. Living near the San Francisco Art Institute, which had previously been known as the California School of Fine Arts, Frohsin felt the proximity of art history and was given library privileges there even though she was not a student. Visiting shows at the Campbell-Thiebaud Gallery gave her even more artists to admire. All of these influences became resources to draw on, but her artistic independence was strong enough that she never fell into the trap of simply being a follower; Frohsin is too eclectic and restless to ever let that happen.
The most significant by-product of Frohsin’s immersion in Bay Area art and culture was that it loosened up her brushwork, which had previously been constrained by flirtations with Surrealism and Photorealism. Along with realizing that she did not have to be literal, the universal quality of David Park’s late portraits suggested to Frohsin that she could paint invented figures in alternation with identifiable subjects. Painting in oil until mid-1994, when she switched to acrylic, Frohsin created scenarios and narratives rooted in personal experience that veered both towards and away from autobiography. With their free-floating hints of narrative, Frohsin’s paintings from the 90s walk the line between candor and caprice.
The easy interplay between representation and abstraction—a Bay Area specialty—generated a distinctive freshness and flexibility in Frohsin’s paintings. Her fluent use of color and mad drawing skills, which are very much there under the broad brushwork, gave the work tangibility and mojo. Conversation, an acrylic work on paper from 1994, features two boldly shaded and entirely credible female figures backlit by a two-toned zone of yellow that pulses like a Rothko, highlighting Frohsin’s ability to conjure abstract environments in paint. Troupe, also from 1994, presents five figures facing each other in a circle and is spatially complex yet seemingly effortless in its execution. Frohsin’s charming Boy in a Blue Light is a tone poem about a young everyman, while her Dog People gives us a cast that resembles Frohsin, her then-husband Randall Sexton, and their dog. Although Frohsin can pull apart the backstory of the painting in her own mind (including the RV trailer), her feeling is that element is not something a viewer needs to do. Gardener from 1999 shows Frohsin at her most explosive, mixing up her media and cutting loose to explore the rhythms and patterns of garden foliage.
While Frohsin was painting these figures a great deal of other things were happening. She was exploring printmaking—for which she won a major award in 1997—drawing live models, and achieving new effects with mixed media. And of course, the experience of life and its challenges brought changes in tone. As Frohsin matured, her work became, in no particular order, edgier, more inward, more erotic, more ethereal and more conceptual. The 90s were a time when Frohsin found herself as an artist and the joy of self-discovery is apparent in her art. The assertive mix of innocence and sophistication in Frohsin’s paintings from her halcyon days is as charming today as it was 30 years ago. Given all that has happened in the world since, maybe even more so.
*
John Seed is a writer and painter who holds degrees in Studio Art from Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley. His writings have appeared in Arts of Asia, Harvard Magazine and Hyperallergic. com. Seed is currently developing a conference on Bay Area Figurative art planned for the Fall of 2027.
1:
Plate
Shadow of a Race, 1996 oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
Plate 2:
Fair, 1994
acrylic on paper mounted on archival board, 22 1/4 x 26 inches
Plate 3:
Dog People, 1997
acrylic on canvas, 48 x 54 1/4 inches
Plate 4:
Face of Fear, 1994
acrylic, dry pigment, ink, and pencil on paper, mounted on archival board, 24 1/8 x 18 7/8 inches
Plate 5:
A Dark Mood, 1998 marker, acrylic, medium, and ink on paper, 20 5/8 x 12 inches
Plate 6:
Carnival Fare, 1994
acrylic, dry pigment, pencil, gouache, and ink on paper, mounted on archival board, 18 1/2 x 23 1/8 inches
Plate 7:
City Jogger, 1995
acrylic, medium, and gouache on paper, 12 7/8 x 12 3/8 inches
Plate 8:
La Jalousie, 1997
acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches
Plate 9:
Cynthia, 1994
acrylic, inky medium, oil, and dry pigment on paper, 14 1/8 x 13 1/2 inches
Appreciation, 1998
Plate 10:
Her
acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
Plate 11:
The Gardener, 1999
acrylic, ink, gouache on paper, 10 x 13 5/8 inches
Plate 12:
Frenchwoman, 1995
acrylic on paper, 15 3/4 x 12 1/4 inches
13:
Plate
Boy in Blue Light, 1994
acrylic on paper mounted on archival paper, 22 x 30 inches
Plate 14:
J.T. Pensive Pose, 1998 marker, acrylic, and ink on paper, 20 x 12 1/2 inches
Plate 15:
Showgirl, 1994 oil on canvas, 32 x 32 inches
Plate 16:
Troupe, 1994
acrylic on paper, 21 x 26 inches
Plate 17:
Rose Room, 1994
acrylic on paper, 19 x 23 1/2 inches
Plate 18:
Conversation, 1994
acrylic on paper, 24 7/8 x 20 3/4 inches
Exhibition Checklist
Plate 1: Shadow of a Race 1996 oil on canvas
36 x 36 inches
Plate 2: Fair 1994
acrylic on paper mounted on archival board 22 1/4 x 26 inches
Plate 3: Dog People 1997
acrylic on canvas 48 x 54 1/4 inches
Plate 4: Face of Fear 1994
acrylic, dry pigment, ink, and pencil on paper, mounted on archival board 24 1/8 x 18 7/8 inches
Plate 5: A Dark Mood 1998
marker, acrylic, medium, and ink on paper 20 5/8 x 12 inches
Plate 6: Carnival Fare 1994
acrylic, dry pigment, pencil, gouache, and ink on paper, mounted on archival board 18 1/2 x 23 1/8 inches
Plate 7: City Jogger 1995
acrylic, medium, and gouache on paper 12 7/8 x 12 3/8 inches
Plate 8: La Jalousie 1997
acrylic on canvas 24 x 24 inches
Plate 9: Cynthia 1994
acrylic, inky medium, oil, and dry pigment on paper 14 1/8 x 13 1/2 inches
Plate 10: Her Appreciation 1998
acrylic on canvas 36 x 48 inches
Plate 11: The Gardener 1999
acrylic, ink, gouache on paper 10 x 13 5/8 inches
Plate 12: Frenchwoman 1995
acrylic on paper 15 3/4 x 12 1/4 inches
Plate 13: Boy in Blue Light 1994
acrylic on paper mounted on archival paper 22 x 30 inches
Plate 14: J.T. Pensive Pose 1998
marker, acrylic, and ink on paper
20 x 12 1/2 inches
Plate 15: Showgirl 1994
oil on canvas
32 x 32 inches
Plate 16: Troupe 1994
acrylic on paper 21 x 26 inches
Plate 17: Rose Room 1994
acrylic on paper 19 x 23 1/2 inches
Plate 18: Conversation 1994
acrylic on paper 24 7/8 x 20 3/4 inches
Born 1961 in Atlanta, GA
Education
1988
1984
B.F.A, The Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA
B.A. in Humanities and French, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA l’Institut pour les Étudiants Étrangers, Aix-en-Provence, France
Professional Experience
2005–2006
MFA Independent Study Advisor, The Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
Selected Awards
2015 Bronze Award, My Art-My Vision, Art Forward Contests, Montecito, CA
2014 Nominee: 2014 Joan Mitchell Foundation, Painters and Sculptors Grant, New York, NY
Second Place Juror’s Award, 25th Annual Juried Show, Contemporary Arts Centre, Las Vegas, NV
2013 Nominee: Fleischhacker Foundation Eureka Fellowship Program 2014-2016
2012 Award Winner, 25th Northern National Juried Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Rhinelander, WI
2011 Two Awards of Merit, Expressions West 2011, Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR
2010 Third Place Award, Body Language, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA
2006 First Place Award, Works on Paper Exhibition, Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025 Kim Frohsin: Selected Figures from the 1990s, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2024 Kim Frohsin: Tiny Dancers, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2023 Kim Frohsin: Figures at Ease, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Kim Frohsin: Figurative Monochromes, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA [online exhibition]
2021 Kim Frohsin – A Backward Glance, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
A Self-Reflection: Works from 1992-2018, b. Sakata garo, Sacramento, CA
2020 Go Figure – Kim Frohsin, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2019 Meditations at Mid Career: Selected Works, b.sakato garo, Sacramento, CA
2018 Dancers & Athletes, 30 works from assemblage series, City Picture Frame Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Kim Frohsin: Cautionary Tales, Peninsula Museum of Art, Burlingame, CA
Kim Frohsin: Cautionary Tales, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2017 Vintage Kim Frohsin: Abstracting the Figure, Thomas Reynolds Gallery, San Francisco, CA
NORN.co, 1667 Hayes St., San Francisco, CA
2016 Cubic Views: Kim Frohsin & Nina Dietzel, Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA
Spring Medley: Figures & Still Life Revisited; Works by Kim Frohsin : A Selection from 2004–2014, Inclusions Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2015 Portraits of Numbers 2010-2014, Public corporate Exhibit, Lobby, Curated by Jan Casey, Lobby, 425 Market St., San Francisco, CA
2014 Reliquaries: Exposed, Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA
2012 Portraits of Numbers: 2011–2012 [first floor gallery]; The White Dahlia Series: 2011 [second floor gallery], Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2012 Portraits of the Iconic and the Mundane, SFMOMA Artist’s Gallery, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
2011 Coca-Cola & Masks, Caffe Museo at SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
2010 Wig Heads: Paintings on Paper and Monoprints by Kim Frohsin, Jackson Place Salon (Dolby Chadwick Gallery) San Francisco, CA
2009 Wigs and Silhouettes: Kim Frohsin, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Figurative Musings, Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA
2008 Figures With Edges, Nelson Macker Fine Art, Port Chester, NY
2007 Kim Frohsin: A Personal Selection, The Alliance Francaise, San Francisco, CA
Kim Frohsin: Recent Figures, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
Two Minutes and Counting, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 Kim Frohsin: My Mosaics & Joel Putnam: Figurative Oils, City Picture Frame Gallery, San Francisco, CA (two person).
2005 In the Abstract: 2004-2005, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Kim Frohsin: Paintings & Prints, in collaboration with Trillium Press, Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery, San Anselmo, CA.
2004 A Ten-Year Retrospective: Kim Frohsin at Trillium, Trillium Press, Brisbane, CA
Grids & Motifs: New Works on Paper by Kim Frohsin, Café Borrone (Dolby Chadwick Gallery), Menlo Park, CA
2003 Provocative Poses: 2001-2003, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Medley, City Picture Frame Gallery (Dolby Chadwick), San Francisco, CA
Wordworks II + Plus, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis CA
2001 Figure Drawings on Paper: Kim Frohsin, Dolby Chadwick, San Francisco, CA
Figurative Works on Paper: 1992-2001, The Collector’s Gallery at The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
Figurative Works on Paper: 1992-2001, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2000 A Husband and Wife Exhibit of Thirteen Themes, Sanchez Art Center Gallery at Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA (with Randall Sexton)
1999 Kim Frohsin: New Paintings and Works on Paper by Kim Frohsin, Campbell-Thiebaud Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Innovation and Influence: The Art of Richard Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud and New Paintings by Kim Frohsin, Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities, Ketchum, ID
Mixed Media Prints by Kim Frohsin, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Back to Back: The Female Figure, The Campbell-Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Kim Frohsin: Mixed Media Painting/Prints, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1998 Cast Shadows: Figures and Other Subjects, SOMA Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Glimpses of Treasure Island & Other Local Haunts: 1997, Campbell- Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Kim Frohsin, Winfield Gallery, Carmel, CA
Kim Frohsin: New Works on Paper, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1997 Bay Area Figurative Revisited: Kim Frohsin and Ken Kewley, SOMA Gallery, La Jolla, SF (two person).
Kim Frohsin & Randal Sexton: Alumni Exhibition Figurative Drawing, Academy of Art College Gallery, Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA
1996 Kim Frohsin: Recent Small Figurative Works on Paper & the Alcatraz Series, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1995 Kim Frohsin: The Playground Series 1992-1994, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
The All-Sorts Series, The Campbell-Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA (with Wm. Balthazar Rose)
1994 Kim Frohsin & Randall Sexton: Paintings and Works on Paper, St. Francisco Hotel, San Francisco, CA (John Natsoulas Gallery)
1990 Enrico Bonizzato & Kim Frohsin, Cassandra Kersting Gallery, Oakland, CA
1989 Visions of Illusion and Reality: Works in Various Media: 1988-1989, Alumni Faculty Gallery, The Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 At a Glance, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2024 Winter Salon, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
What’s Cookin’? Art about food, culture and community, Palo Alto Art Centre, Palo Alto, CA (Juror: Greg Flood, Director, Paul Thiebaud Gallery)
RECLAMATION, invitational exhibition, Pamela Walsh Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
Look Again: A Celebration of Common Objects, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Hijinks, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2023 Winter Salon, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
The DeYoung Open, juried community exhibition, DeYoung Museum, San Francisco, CA
Women of Northern California: Making Meaning for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA (catalogue)
2022 Deck the Halls, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
1 Yr in SB, Thomas Reynolds Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2021 KALEIDOSCOPE, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2020 The DeYoung Open, juried community exhibition in celebration of the de Young’s 125th anniversary, DeYoung Museum, San Francisco, CA
LOOK: A Holiday Expo, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
The Crocker Museum’s 41st Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA 31 Women, Whitney Modern Gallery, invitational exhibit, Los Gatos, CA
2019 BIG TOP, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
A Web of Artists- Friends from Social Networks, Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
Tales from the VAULT, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
Focus on the Figure, Ruby Living, Mill Valley, CA
2018 Memory and Perception, juried exhibition, MarinMOCA, Novato, CA
Collect + Connect: 38th Annual Art Exhibit and Auction, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
15th Annual Wabi-Sabi Exhibition, O’Hanlon Centre for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
Friendly Fire, invitational group exhib, Wessling Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2nd International Figurative Biennale, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
Dreamland, 5-person Show, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
Noh Kimono, invitational exhibit, Orangeland Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2017 SHIFT, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
Celebrating the David Park Legacy, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
Big Exhibition of Small Works, Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA
Art for AIDS 2017, annual auction, City View at Metreon, San Francisco, CA
AbstrAction 2017, national juries exhibit, MarinMOCA, Novato, CA
Small Things 2017, Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, Lafayette, CA
Visions of Space and Form: A Group Exhibit, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
48 Pillars, invitational exhibitions, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA (catalogue) Into the Light, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
2016 Collect + Connect: 36th Annual Art Exhibit and Auction, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
Elegant Simplicity, Nightingale Gallery, Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR International Figurative Biennale, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
The Sand City Juried Art Exhibition, Independent Gallery, Sand City, CA
Our Town, Richmond Art Centre, Richmond, CA
Another Take, figurative invitational exhibition, Epperson Gallery, Crockett, CA
58th Annual Potrero Hill Artists’ Exhibition, Potrero Library, San Francisco, CA
Amanda and Mark Danitschek & The Figure, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
The Figure in Place, Firehouse Arts Centre, Harrington Gallery, Pleasanton, CA
Beyond the Selfie, Invitational Exhibition, New Museum (NUMU) Los Gatos, CA
2015 Art Auction 2015: Root Division’s 14th Annual Art Auction, San Francisco, CA
Anything but Ordinary…invitational exhibit, Bryant Street Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2015
FourSquared 2015, invitational exhibit, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Human Nature, figure exhibition, Urban Edge Gallery, Waukegan, IL
DESIGN 10, Museum of Craft and Design at Ligne Roset, San Francisco, CA
AWAKEN: Elizabeth Barlow, Elmer Bischoff, Joan Brown, Kim Frohsin, April
Dawn Parker, John Wood, Galerie CITI, Burlingame, CA
Small Treasures: From the Heart, invitational, Epperson Gallery, Crockett, CA
REACTION, 30th Annual Juried Exhibition, Gallery Route One, Pt Reyes, CA
2014
The Size of Ideas: Online Exhibition of Small Works, J. Cacciola Gallery, NY
Chairs, invitational exhibition, Orangeland Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Works on Paper: Summer Selections, Mongerson Gallery, Chicago, IL
MASH UP, 6-person collaborative show, Hespe Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Women Painting Women: Kim Frohsin, Shelley Adler, Edwige Fouvy, J. Gallery, New York, NY
Works on Paper: Summer Selections, Mongerson Gallery, Chicago, IL
Delve(ations) x 9, Arc Gallery, Live Worms Gallery, San Francisco, CA
25th Annual Juried Show, Contemporary Arts Centre, Las Vegas, NV
The Figure, A Bay Area Legacy, Gary Francis Fine Art, Alameda, CA
Life Live, group figure drawing exhibition, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Gallery Artists, J. Cacciola Gallery, New York, NY
2013 Art for AIDS 2013, 17th Annual Auction, City View at Metreon, San Francisco, CA
Cone Monochromacy, J. Cacciola Gallery, New York, NY
Crocker Art Museum’s 35th Annual Art Auction, Sacramento, CA
On Paper, Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA
Tarot: Art of Fortune, invitational exhibition, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
HEADS, Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA
Life Live, group figure drawing exhibition, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2012
AB25: Collective Memories, Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA
25th Northern National Juried Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Rhinelander, WI
Art Futura: Art in Motion, juried show to benefit The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, NU Lurie Center, Chicago, IL
White, Black & Shades of Gray, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA
Expressions West 2012, Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR
Kala-fornia: State of the Art 2, Kala, Berkeley, CA
Legacy in Continuum: Bay Area Figuration, Bakersfield Museum of Art Bakersfield, CA
Figures in Abstract, invitational 6-person exhibition, Seager Gray Gallery,Mill Valley, CA
Life Live, group figure drawing exhibition, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Portraits of the Iconic and the Mundane: Kim Frohsin, Claire Pasquier, Winni Wintermeyer, San Francisco, CA
SFMOMA’s Artist’s Gallery, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
2011 Studies: Preparatory Work That Stands Alone, Prographica / KDR Gallery, Seattle, WA Paper, Scissors, Glue: Bay Area Collage, Bryant Street Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
Expressions West 2011, Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR
Hearing the Backbeat: Realists & Abstraction, Prographica / KDR Gallery, Seattle, WA
January Salon Show, Pryor Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
2010 Body Language, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA
Private Art Show, invitational exhibition, Leanne Hull Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
FIGURES, New Work by Greg Chadwick, Marshall Crossman, Kim Frohsin, Carol O’Malia, Julie Nester Gallery, Park City, UT
Self Portrait Invitational, Julie Nester Gallery, Park City, UT
Kink: The Seduction of Art, Koplin Del Rio, Culver City, CA
The Figure Now: Exhibition 2010, Fontbonne University Fine Arts Gallery, St. Louis, MO
24th Annual Art Show at the Dog Show, Various Locations, Wichita, KS
2009 Bay Area Figurative: Paintings and Drawings, ArtZone 461 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
The Art Of Play, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Staff Favorites, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
On Paper, invitational drawing exhibit, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions (cont.)
2009
West Coast Drawings VIII, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
Small works on paper by The Artists of ZYZZYVA, Mina Dresden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
5 artists put their best art forward, Bolinas Gallery, Bolinas, CA
Figurative Musings, Ma(i)sonry, Yountville, CA
2008 Painterly Painting: The Next Level, The Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA
Private Art Show, invitational exhibition, Leanne Hull Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
Art I Love: A Group Exhibition, Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Expressions West 2008, Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR
Singular Impressions: Monotypes, Art Works Downtown, San Rafael, CA
LaGrange National Biennial XXV, LaGrange Art Museum, Lamar Dodd Art Center, LaGrange, GA
2007 Bay Area Influence – The Other Side, Wendt Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Invitational Group Exhibition, 1212 Gallery, Burlingame, CA
Recycle, Gallery One, San Francisco, CA
30th Small Works Exhibition, Washington Square Galleries at NYU, New York, NY
Texas National: 2007, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX
Recent Figures, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
2006 Stephanie Caloia, Artist’s Model, Crockett Contemporary Art, Crockett, CA
Works On Paper Exhibition, Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA
7th Annual Juried National Exhibit, Kauffman Gallery, Huber Art Center, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA
Bay Area Figurative: Then And Now, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
Finding The Figure, SFMOMA Artists Gallery, Ft. Mason Center, San Francisco, CA
2005 A Bay Area Tradition: An Artist’s Group’s Focus on Figure Drawing, City Picture Frame Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Introductions ’05, Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2005 Member’s Showcase, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
New Year/New Work, North Berkeley Frame and Gallery, Berkeley, CA
Women’s Work Now: Large Paintings By Bay Area Women Artists, Bank of America Building, San Francisco, CA
Looking Back And Seeing Forward, Charles Campbell Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2003 20th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Trillium Press Group Show, The Mills Building, San Francisco, CA
Medley, City Picture Frame Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Wordworks II + Plus, The John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
Grids & Motifs: 2003, Cafe Borrone, Menlo Park, CA
2002 14th Annual Mini Show, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
The San Jose Museum of Art Cafe Gallery, group print exhibit, San Jose, CA
Uncorked, Crocker Museum Wine Auction Benefit, Sacramento, CA
In Other Words, The Second City Council, Long Beach, CA.
Trillium Press: Past, Present and Future, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
Solos: The Contemporary Monoprint, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
The Perception of Appearance: A Decade of Contemporary Figure Drawing, The Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Modern Art Council Annual Auction at SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
2001
WORDWORKS: 2000-2001, Dolby-Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Figurative Works on Paper: 1992-2001, Collector’s Gallery, Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
Figurists, invitational show, Caroline Blake Gallery, Charleston, SC
2000 15th Annual Juried Exhibit, Gallery Route One, Pt. Ryes, CA
KCAD Juried Exhibition, Kendall Gallery, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild 2000 All California, regional juried exhibition, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA
2000
Pacific States Biennial National Print Exhibition, regional juried exhibition, Campus Center Gallery, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI
Postive/Negative, annual national juried exhibition, Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, John City, TN
Works on and of Paper, national juried exhibition, Art Gallery, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL
Pacific Prints 2000, Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA
1999 Working from the Figure, Arts Benicia, Benecia, CA
Dolby Chadwick Gallery, CA
Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Bell, Book & Candle, invitational exhibition of Californai artists, Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa City Council Chambers, San Rosa, CA
1998 Cast Shadows: Figures and Other Subjects, SOMA Gallery, La Jolla, CA.
1997 Toward the Millenium: Contemporary Paintings from Northern California, invitational exhibition, Monterey Museum of Art at La Mirada, Monterey, CA
Bay Area Art: The Morgan Flagg Collection, M.H. De Young Memorial Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA
1996 California National, 750 Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Exhibition, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
1994 69th Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
1993 Exhibition, J. Noblett Gallery, Boyes Hot Springs, CA
Four Figures from the Bay: Manuel Neri, Kim Frohsin, Stephen De Staebler, Nathan Oliveira, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1989 National Small Works Exhibition, national juried exhibition, Schoharie County Arts Council Gallery, Cobleskill, NY
Publications
2023 Women of Northern California: Making Meaning for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Curated by Sarah Poisner, John Natsoulas Press, Davis, CA.
2015 Heightened Perceptions, Curated by John Seed, Poets/Artist Issue #65. Kiss the Past Hello: 100 Years of the Coca-Cola Bottle, foreword Stephen Bayley, Assouline, New York, pp.70-73.
2014 Frohsin, Kim. Portraits of Numbers: 2010–2014. Essay by John Seed. Epressbooks, San Francisco, CA.
2012 Legacy in Continuum: Bay Area Figuration. Essay by Roberta Carasso, Ph.D. Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA.
2008 Figures with Edges. Essay by John Seed. Nelson Macker Fine Art, Port Chester. “Kim Frohsin” Interview with Kim Frohsin, photos by Erin Clark and Gina Taro ARTWORKS, winter 2007–2008.
“Fundamentals Of Human Neuropsychology: 6th edition,” Alberta: W.H. Freeman and Worth Publishing.
2007 Two Minutes and Counting. Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco. Essay by Peter Campion. West Branch. Bucknell University, Lewisburg. Spring/Summer edition. Cover Art: “Mystery Skirt” West Branch, spring/summer edition, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.
2006 Bay Area Painting. Davis, CA: John Natsoulas Press.
ZYZZYVA, Fall, Vol. XXII #2 2006.
2005 Kim Frohsin: In the Abstract: 2004–2005, Foreword by Paul J. Karlstrom, Dolby-Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA [exh. cat.].
2004 Seymour, Anne. “The Collector’s Eye.” California Home & Design, 2004. ZYZZYVA, Winter, Vol. XX #3 2004.
Publications (cont.)
2002 Lundin, Norman. The Perception of Appearance: A Decade of Contemporary Figure Drawing. Seattle, WA: The Frye Art Museum and University of Washington Press.
“Grieving” Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, BARK, art for article, Berkeley, CA Fall 2002 issue, p.39.
2001 Landauer, Susan. Elmer Bischoff: The Ethics of Paint. University of California Press. 1999 ZYZZYVA, Fall, Vol. XV #2 1999.
Public Collections
Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, CA
Alza Corporation, US Headquarters, Mountain View, CA
Baker & MacKenzie, San Francisco, CA
Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
Buck Fine Arts, Laguna Hills, CA
Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis, Redwood Shores, CA
Cal Com, San Jose, CA.
Charles Schwab, San Francisco, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
Fidelity Investments, MA
Gap Inc., US Headquarters, San Francisco, CA
Gordon and Rees, San Francisco, CA
Gryphon Capital Management, San Francisco, CA
Hambrecht & Quist, San Francisco, CA
Hartnett-Hall Gallery Collection, Minot State University, Minot, ND
Hollywood Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
Hotel W, San Francisco, CA
IN:SITE Design Build Associates, Inc., San Francisco, CA
Johnson & Johnson, New York, NY
Keker, Van Nest, and Peters, San Francisco, CA
Marcus & Millichap
mPower, San Francisco, CA
Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey CA
Morgan Flagg Family Collection, Atherton, CA
Neiman Marcus
Nordstrom, Seattle, WA
Ocean Cities Entertainment, Los Angeles, CA
Pebble Beach Press Ltd., Pebble Beach, CA
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Texaco Corporation, TX
The Coca-Cola Corporation, Heritage Communications, Atlanta, GA.
The Fifth Floor, Hotel Palomar, San Francisco, CA
The Gap Inc. Headquarters, San Francisco, CA
The Holtze Hotel, Denver, CO
United States Department of State, Office of The Governor, State Capital, Sacramento, CA Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati, Palo Alto, CA
Cover: Her Appreciation (detail), 1998
Rear Cover: City Jogger (detail), 1995
Copyright 2025 Paul Thiebaud Gallery. All Rights Reserved. Images copyright 2025 Kim Frohsin. Essay copyright 2025 John Seed.
Design: Greg Flood and Matthew Miller. All images, photo: Matthew Miller.
No portion of this document may be reproduced or stored without the express written permission of the copyright holder(s).
PAUL THIEBAUD GALLERY