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Fredericka Foster

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Fredericka Foster
Born
Seattle, Washington
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.A., University of Washington,
Factory of Visual Arts
Occupation(s)artist, activist, curator
Known forpainting, photography, curating The Value of Water, at The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, and starting Think About Water, a collective of ecological artists and activists
Spouse(s)Bennett M. Shapiro, MD
Websitehttp://www.frederickafoster.com/, https://www.thinkaboutwater.com/
Lake Union, 2013, 42 x 64," oil on canvas, by Fredericka Foster

Fredericka Foster is an American artist, curator and water activist known for her work in oil painting and photography, with a focus on water-related themes. She has been recognized as a River Warrior by the Lewis Pugh Foundation for her efforts in raising "awareness about water's profound impact on our socio-economic, environmental, and subconscious realm."[1]

Early life and education

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A graduate of the University of Washington, Foster studied and served as an instructor at the Factory of Visual Arts, a professional art school that provided an alternative to conventional university art education in Seattle.[2]

Art career

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Foster's work as a painter centers on water; she uses her art to examine its impact on people's lives, subconscious, and the environment. She initially gained recognition for her photography, particularly her candid portrayals of older couples "at ease in aging skin."[3] Foster has exhibited her work since the late 1970s. In the 1990s, her paintings and installations were influenced by the AIDS epidemic, focusing on themes of healing and mortality.[4][5]

Known as an accomplished colorist who uses a limited palette and multiple layers of paint, Foster works in "the romantic landscape tradition of Dove, Hartley, Burchfield and O'Keeffe."[6][7] Art critic Carter Ratcliff notes, although "labeled a realist, a recorder of visible facts, she turns out to be a visionary."[8] Her artistic practice is influenced by Buddhist philosophy and practice, as demonstrated in her public discussions that explore the relationship between Buddhist practice and art, including conversations with composer Philip Glass.[9][10][11][12][13]

Foster has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group shows in the United States and Europe. Her solo exhibitions include five Water Way shows at the Fischbach Gallery in New York City, and an exhibition with an accompanying lecture at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries.[14][15][16] Notable group exhibitions include The Flag Project for the inauguration of the Rubin Museum of Art, and two exhibitions at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine: the "groundbreaking" The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies on the feminine divine, and the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, all in New York City.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

In 2022, Foster participated in the "I AM WATER" juried exhibition by Ecoartspace, which featured her oil painting Molten Sea on a billboard in Manhattan.[25][26][27] She has also been in exhibitions at ecoartspace in New Mexico, including ecoconsciousness (2020) and Earthkeepers Handbook (2023).[28][29] In New York, her work appeared in Scape - Land City, Sea and Sky in Southold (2022), and for East End Arts in Riverhead, Detour IV (2023), and at their Hamptons Fine Art Fair booth in Southhampton (2024.)[30][31][32]

"Molten Sea" billboard on 46th Street at the West Side Highway in Manhattan for ecoartspace's I AM WATER 2022 exhibition.

Foster and artist Hilda O'Connell contributed to Art Beyond Sight's publication Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment, an educational book and compact disk designed to provide visual experiences to individuals with impaired sight and blind artists.[33][34][35] A corresponding video, Art Beyond Sight: A Demonstration of Practical Techniques, was co-produced with the Museum of Modern Art.[36][37]

Her work is held in private and public collections including the Garrison Institute, Artsbridge and the Lambertville Chamber of Commerce, Commerce Bancshares, Merck and Company, Microsoft Corporation, and General Electric.[38][39]

Curator

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Foster is also known for her role curating and participating in the "monumental" exhibition, The Value of Water at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, where the "cathedral staff are to be congratulated for having the vision to raise the funds and commission so ambitious an exhibition from so clearly competent a curator."[40] The largest exhibition to ever appear at the cathedral, it anchored a year long initiative by the cathedral on our dependence upon water.[41][42][43][44][45] Over forty artists were featured, including Jenny Holzer, Robert Longo, Mark Rothko, William Kentridge, April Gornik, Kara Walker, Kiki Smith, Pat Steir, Edwina Sandys, Alice Dalton Brown, Teresita Fernandez, Eiko Otake and Bill Viola.[46]

In April 2023 Foster curated The Rivers exhibition which complemented the Pathways to Planetary Health Initiative hosted at the Garrison Institute. Ten artists affiliated with Think About Water (see below, Activist) collaborated to underscore the imminent threats confronting freshwater ecosystems.[47][48]

Activist

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In the 1970s, Foster observed the situation of the Duwamish people along the Duwamish River in Seattle. The Duwamish, who had historically inhabited the area, faced challenges when the government condemned their houseboat residences and adjacent ancestral lands. Foster supported their peaceful protests by participating in a letter-writing campaign.[1] This led to collaborations with artists, scientists, and non-profit organizations to raise awareness about water-related issues, including environmental concerns, pollution, and climate change. Her work often involves interdisciplinary approaches to address these topics. Foster has been interviewed for her role as a cultural activist and has also lectured on art and activism.[49][50]

To educate about the water crisis and water scarcity, she presented her work to two hundred and fifty scientists, staged a performance based on the 2017 sewage spill into Puget Sound at the Sage Assembly 2017, Exploring a Catastrophe to Water Through Science and Art; and conducted an exhibition and talk at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries.[51][52][53][54] Like a Circle in Water, part of the Elements video series commissioned by the Buddhist Tricycle Foundation in 2014, was an official selection of the Awareness Festival and Blue Ocean Film Festival.[55]

Foster founded and curates Think About Water, an artist collective of ecological activists which spotlights their work using water as their subject or medium. Members include indigenous water protectors Charlotte Coté, and Dr. Kelsey Leonard; Basia Irland, Aviva Rahmani, Betsy Damon, Diane Burko, Leila Daw, Stacy Levy, Meridel Rubenstein, Rosalyn Driscoll, Doug Fogelson, Giana Pilar González, Rachel Havrelock, Susan Hoffman Fishman, Fritz Horstman, Sant Khalsa, Ellen Kozak, Stacy Levy, Anna Macleod, Ilana Manolson, Lauren Rosenthal McManus, Randal Nichols, Dixie Peaslee, Jaanika Peerna, Aviva Rahmani, Lisa Reindorf, Naoe Suzuki, Linda Troelle, Leslie Sobel and Adam Wolpert.[56][57][58]

Selected bibliography

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  • Tara Lohan, ed. (2010). Water Matters: Why We Need to Act Now to Save Our Most Critical Resource. AlterNet Books; Washington (DC). ISBN 978-0-9752724-8-0.
  • Deloris Tarzan Ament, ed. (2010). Iridescent Light: The Emergence of Northwest Art. University of Washington Press, P. 8.
  • Simon Winchester; Katherine Anne Paul (2010). The Flag Project - Contemporary Artists Celebrate the Opening of a New Museum. Rubin Museum of Art.
  • Elisabeth Salzhauer Axel; Nina Sobol Levent, eds. (2003). Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment. Art Beyond Sight, American Foundation for the Blind, Art Education for the Blind.

Films

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  • Like a Circle in Water, Part of the Elements series, commissioned by the Tricycle Foundation, directed by Andrew Chan Gladstone; summer, 2014; official selection: The Awareness Film Festival, Los Angeles, California; and the Blue Ocean Film Festival, St. Petersburg, Florida.[59]
  • Mary Mary, Foster and Christopher Young, 1999; official selection: Northampton Independent Film Festival, Short Program #4: Surreal Reels and the Seattle Underground Film Festival.
  • The Spiritual Journey: Interfaith Perspectives, Foster paintings shown throughout, Galen Films/Romano Productions, presented to the Parliament of the World's Religions by the Auburn Theological Seminary and the Temple of Understanding, 2000.

Awards

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  • 1998, The Inn at Phillips Mill award, Phillips Mill Photographic Exhibition; New Hope, Pennsylvania
  • 1993, First prize, National Polaroid Transfer Exhibition; Kirkland, Washington
  • 1989, Grand prize, Harvest of Arts, Bellevue, Washington; Second prize, Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Fair, Bellevue, Washington
  • 1981, Second prize, Heart of the City, Seattle, Washington
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References

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  1. ^ a b "River Warriors". lewispughfoundation.org. Lewis Pugh Foundation. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Factory Of Visual Arts records, 1977". archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv92700/op=fstyle.aspx?t=k&q=WAUFactoryOfVisualArts2769.xml. University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  3. ^ "Fredericka Foster, Painter, Printmaker, Photographer". bucksco.michenerartmuseum.org. Michener Art Museum. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. ^ Paolina, Tammy (April 11, 1996). "Fighting AIDS, Death through an Artist's Protean Vision". Hunterdon County Democrat. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. ^ Heisler, Wendy (April 11, 1996). "Lending a Healing Hand". The Princeton Packet. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Fredericka Foster Brings Water Way Exhibit to Beacon Institute". The Highlands Current. April 5, 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  7. ^ Maine, Stephen (12 May 2013). "Into the Deep". stephenmaine.com/. Fischbach Gallery Catalogue. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  8. ^ Ratcliff, Carter (26 October 2009). "Carter Ratcliff – An Aqueous Cosmology: The Art of Fredericka Foster". Fischbach Gallery, Waterworks catalogue. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  9. ^ Foster, Fredericka (Summer 2014). "Fredericka Foster A contemporary artist on environmental Buddhism". tricycle.org. Tricycle Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Fredericka Foster, Hildur Palsdottir, and Keith Fiveson, on Your Environment Now (YEN)". youtube.com. Your Environment Now (YEN). 22 July 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  11. ^ Campbell, R.M. "Art Review: Fredericka Foster and Richard Contreras". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  12. ^ Glass, Phillip; Foster, Fredericka; Jacobs, Beth (4 June 2018). "The Smaller the Theater, the Faster the Music Composer, Philip Glass talks time with painter Fredericka Foster". nautil.us. Nautilus: Science Connected. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  13. ^ Glass, Philip; Foster, Fredericka (Fall 2021). "Music, Meditation, Painting—and Dreaming, A conversation with Philip Glass and Fredericka Foster". Tricycle. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  14. ^ Strasuick, Stephanie (September 1, 2013). "Fredericka Foster, review of "Water Way"". ARTnews. No. 8, Volume 112, pg. 100 - 101. ARTnews.
  15. ^ "Fredericka Foster Biography". fischbachgallery.com. Fischbach Gallery. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  16. ^ Rooney, Alison (April 5, 2014). "Water Way: The Paintings of Fredericka Foster". The Highland Current. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  17. ^ Winchester, Simon; Paul, Katherine Anne (April 2007). Flag Project: Contemporary Artists Celebrate the Opening of the New Museum. Rubin Museum of Art. ISBN 9780977213108.
  18. ^ "The Flag Project". Flickr. The Rubin Museum of Art. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  19. ^ "The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies". stjohndivine.org. St. John the Divine Catherdral. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  20. ^ Barron, James (October 4, 2016). "An 'Evolving' Episcopal Church Invites Back a Controversial Sculpture". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  21. ^ Schwendener, Martha (December 29, 2016). "What to See in New York City Galleries This Week". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  22. ^ "The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies" (PDF). Art Forum. September 2, 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Meet the Artists: Fredericka Foster". stjohndivine.org. Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  24. ^ "The Value of Sanctuary". stjohndivine.org. Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  25. ^ Heartney, Eleanor. "ecoconsciousness fall 2020 online + billboard show". ecoartspace.org. ecoartspace. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Exhibits, I AM WATER 2022, Billboards". ecoartspace.org. ecoartspace. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  27. ^ Marcisz, Christopher (September 17, 2022). "'I AM WATER' billboard art campaign aims to get people talking about the decline of drinkable water". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  28. ^ "ecoconsciousness catalogue". issuu.com. Eco Art Space. September 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  29. ^ Watts, Patricia. "EARTHKEEPERS HANDBOOK fall 2022 online + printed book June 2023". ecoartspace.org. ecoartspave. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Fredericka Foster". cocaseattle.net. CoCA Center on Contemporary Art. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  31. ^ "DETOUR IV Annual Summer Group Exhibition". eastendarts.org. East End Arts. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  32. ^ "East End Arts Riverhead, NY". hamptonsfineartfair.com. Hamptons Fine Art Fair. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  33. ^ Emory, Sami (May 2017). "80-Year-Old Artist 'Hilda' Shines in a New Documentary". vice.com. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  34. ^ "Online Accessibility Training, ABS's Guidelines for Verbal Description". artbeyondsight.org. Art Beyond Sight, American Foundation for the Blind, Art Education for the Blind. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  35. ^ "Art Education for the Blind Publications". artbeyondsight.org. Art Beyond Sight. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  36. ^ "ABS Awareness Month: Video Resources". artbeyondsight.org. Art Beyond Sight. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  37. ^ Salzhauer Axel, Elisabeth; Sobol Levent, Nina (Spring 2004). "Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment". Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America. 23 (1): 43–44. doi:10.1086/adx.23.1.27949288. JSTOR 27949288.
  38. ^ D'Aleo, Michael. "Fredericka Foster". sensri.org. Saratoga Natural Science Research Institute. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  39. ^ "The Art Program". hepierrepontbk.com. The Pierrepont. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  40. ^ Pickstone, Charles (Spring 2012). "The Value of Water". Art & Christianity (69): 1, 1p. PMID 17466229. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  41. ^ Miller, Reverend Canon, Tom. "The Value of Water Exhibition". UCLA Art Science Center. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  42. ^ Rev. Dr. A. Kowalski, James (6 October 2011). "The Cathedral of St. John the Divine and The Value of Water". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  43. ^ Foster, Fredericka. "The Value of Water at St John the Divine". vimeo.com. Sara Karl. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  44. ^ Bukauskas, Dovilas. "The Value of Water". worldpolicy.org. World Policy Institute. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  45. ^ Madel, Robin (December 6, 2017). "Through Art, the Value of Water Expressed". Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  46. ^ Cotter, Mary (4 October 2011). "Manhattan Cathedral Examines "The Value of Water" in a New Star-Studded Art Exhibition". inhabitat.com. inhabitat. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  47. ^ "Igniting Action at the Intersection of Art, Ecology, and Contemplation". Garrison Institute. April 14, 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  48. ^ "Down by the River". The highlands Current. September 22, 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  49. ^ "Salish Sea Art Show Favorites". seattleartistleague.com. Seattle Artist League. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  50. ^ "Episode 04: Fredericka Foster, Tuesday October 20, 2020". instituteforculturalactivism.org. Institute for Cultural Activism International. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  51. ^ Carey, Brainard (September 5, 2017). "Fredricka Foster". Museum of Nonvisble Art. Praxis Interview Magazine, Yale University Radio. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  52. ^ "Assembly 2018, Highlights 2017". sageassembly.org. Sage Bionetworks. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  53. ^ "Water Way, The Paintings of Fredericka Foster". bire.org. Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, Clarkson University. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  54. ^ D'Aleo, Michael. "Fredericka Foster". sensri.org. Saratoga Experiential Natural Science Research Institute (SENSRI). Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  55. ^ Gladstone, Andrew Chan. "Like A Circle In Water". acgladstone.com. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  56. ^ "Influential Figures Dr. Charlotte Cote". tseshaht.com. Tseshaht First Nation [c̓išaaʔatḥ]. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  57. ^ "Think About Water, An Ecological Artist Collective". Issues in Science and Technology. XXXVII (4). Summer 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  58. ^ Foster, Fredericka. "Think About Water website". thinkaboutwater.com. Think About Water. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  59. ^ Foster, Fredericka (15 April 2014). "Like a Circle in Water". vimeo.com. Tricycle Foundation. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
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