Pathway to Abstraction

Exhibition at Agora Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, December 2012 – January 2013.

The title of this group show, Pathway to Abstraction, could not be more apposite for me. I have been treading this path for the last 6 years, it ain’t easy but a wonderful challenge. To be asked to participate was an honour and a huge surprise.

Given my short background as an artist, this was a surreal experience. I’d been to New York over 100 times so the place was very familiar. But to go there as an artist exhibiting at a well known and long established gallery was weird. No-one, least of all me would or could have predicted that even a year ago. For the days running up to the event and the two days following I was in a daze………….nothing could have prepared me for that…………..and I was somewhat overwhelmed. For those who know me that’s unusual to say the least.

The gallery was extremely impressive and professional in the way they treated and promoted their artists. There are some links below worth looking at.

I showed two works on canvas and art from my “Abstractions of Man’s Environmental Destruction” Series, on scorched hardboard with heavy collage and mixed media. They all relate and are inspired by my concern for the environment and the effects of climate change.

Over 200 guests came for the opening, including some friends from the UK, Manhattan itself and Washington DC. It was a very different feel from a London opening, not the least because it was on a Thursday when dozens of Galleries in Chelsea and SoHo also open their doors. Thus people take in as many galleries as they can on the night. Sales are rare at or before openings again unlike London. Buyers come back. The show is on till 12th January. Here’s hoping for a sell out!!

The gallery’s main web site is www.agora-gallery.com

Navigating it is easy and if you go to Exhibitions you can see reception photos and videos and also past exhibitions (if you see it before 12/1/2013 it will of course be current)

If you go to Resources and then ARTmine and search for Michael Freedman you will get my web pages with their write ups and promotion materials, somewhat dramatic but who cares?

With Jess Rutterford, a fellow student at Wimbledon College of Art and Design, then working in New York.

Just before opening reception alongside two works, "Red Road" and "Cyanide Lake".

Discussing my processes with guests.

With Avril in front of works from "Abstractions of Man’s Environmental Destruction" Series

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ReGroup

Exhibition at Putney Art School ….. November-December 2012

This was group show with three friends whom I met when we were all part time students at the School. The others being Abi lipski, Judith Hayes and Suzanne de Emmony We all went on the graduate from colleges of the University of the Arts, London, in 2011 and 2012. We began as oil on canvas painters although Abi is the only one who has stuck religiously to this medium. Judith became a photographer and has now become a sculptural installation artist and Suzanne is a print maker/painter/photographer. I guess I still paint but on steel, granite, wood and hardboard and use a variety of mediums including collage,minerals and processes like scorching to enhance my work .
The opening reception was like a reunion with over 100 friends from our time at Putney and some new guests. A very relaxed evening with a 3 week show to follow.

Proud Grand-Dad and Grand-daughter, Jasmine, at opening.

Fellow artists, Judith Hayes, Suzanne de Emmony, Abi Lipski and yours truly.

Two of my featured works from my "Man's Devastation of the Earth" Series

Guests at the opening reception including my wife , Avril, on the left.

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Exhibition at Buscall Gallery, Harrogate, Yorkshire.

This was the opening show of a new gallery. I exhibited my two “Ice Cliff ” paintings and several from the series “Abstractions of Man’s Environmental Destruction“. I showed “Earth on Fire”, “Pesticide’s Impact”, “Why Don’t You Believe in Climate Change?” and “Deliberate Neglect”. They can be seen in the relevant portfolios, elsewhere on this site.

Unfortunately they were not hung to best advantage, the gallery tried to cram too much into the exhibition and in their enthusiasm did not leave enough space for any of the works to be seen in their best light.

What struck me then and subsequently with the Putney and New York shows was the amount of work that is involved in sending work properly finished, insured and packed and organising for its return if necessary. Its a surprisingly time consuming business and surprisingly costly too. There has been little time for actually creating work between August and December given the organisation involved in three exhibitions.

The full size versions of the 3 close up images below can be see in the portfolio “Abstractions of Man’s Environmental Destruction“.

Why dont you believe in climate change? Close up detail.

Why dont you believe in climate change? Close up detail.

Pesticides' Impact - Close up detail.

Pesticides' Impact - Close up detail.

Deliberate Neglect - Close up detail

Deliberate Neglect - Close up detail

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Autumn Thoughts

Having just come back from the Orkney Islands, Shetland and Lewis/Harris in the Outer Hebrides, one of the best 2-3 holidays we have ever had, I feel inspired to paint, to abstract the most beautiful scenery and historic atmosphere ( they were settled 5000 years ago, one thousand years before Stonehenge) but it ain’t easy.

I am also motivated to create work derived from the amazing landscape photos sent back from the Mars landing. Lets hope we don’t destroy that place too.

Interrupting are the exhibitions planned for the next 3 months. One at the Vibe Gallery, a last minute decision to join the Affordable Art Fair, and then the Putney and New York ones. The preparation to exhibit takes an inordinate amount of time, more than I ever thought and can be expensive, especially if sales are not prolific!

In each of these exhibitions I am showing the work under the first of the portfolios, “Abstractions of Man’s Environmental Destruction”

Lots going on in the Art world…..the Tanks at Tate Modern were disappointing, the Cork Street fiasco is a sell out to the highest bidder with no thought for the culture of the nation, whether or not you like what is on show at the galleries there, they do have a place.

Off to see Bronzes at the RA and the Hamilton at the National soon.

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Results and more exhibitions

I got an upper second (2.1) for my Fine Art Degree. This was hoped for
but you never know until the final whistle is blown.

I have three new exhibitions planned.

There is a new gallery opening in Harrogate in the summer and I have
been asked to send some work there.

Secondly, in the autumn, together with three friends who I met at
Putney School of Art and Design, all in Gavin Maughling’s classes, I
am mounting an exhibition of our latest work. Suzanne De Emmony, Abi
Lipski and Judith Hayes are my collaborators and we will show our
latest work since graduating from Wimbledon College of Art and Design
and, in Suzanne’s case, from Central St. Martins.

Lastly, and somewhat more exotic and exciting, I am showing at the
Agora Gallery in Chelsea in New York. This planned for the early part
of 2013.

Watch this space!!

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Updated News, March 2012

What a fuss about the A level Hockney paintings at the RA. Seeing his latest, unconsidered and hurried work, (he had to fill the allotted space)…..in the same few weeks as the Anselm Keifer at the White Cube, the Picasso at Tate Britain and even the Italian Burri’s belated retrospective at the Estorick Gallery puts Hockney in his proper place as an unremarkable late 20th century British painter with a gimmick, harking back to his homeland of Yorkshire, years after his self imposed exile in California.

My latest exhibition is at the new Sunset Tapas Bar and Restaurant in Wimbledon….. where they have taken 8 works to decorate their walls.

Most exciting, though. I have been asked by a well known New York Gallery, the Agora Gallery, if they can represent me in the USA. I had it checked out by art friends over there. It has got a green light after 25 successful years in Chelsea…so watch this space after my degree show in June.

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Human Remains

This installation refers to man’s left overs in the process of destroying our planet.

Even in Antarctica, our last true wilderness, there is an abundance of evidence pointing to man’s uncaring attitude to our environment.

Whether its explorers, research scientists, whalers or tourists, they leave ugly scars on the pristine landscape.

One example is the huge oil silos, like a Richard Serra sculpture, left at Deception Island and which blot and pollute the scene like a poisonous boil.

This installation shows the inside of one of these silos contrasted with the haunting beauty of the Antarctica of Attenborough’s “Frozen Planet”.

Click here to see the Human Remains Portfolio

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There is no planet B

We are continuing apace to devastate and destroy our planet. It is unlikely to last another 100 years without significant loss of life, land, species and a major change in life-style by the survivors, of whom some have estimated there will be but 30% of the current population, even allowing for population growth.
My art tries to express how I feel about this preventable situation. It is enhanced by my memories of places I have been to and which mean a lot to me such as Antarctica (in which I am spending December), Namibia, Narvik in northern Norway and The Chilean Andes at Torres Del Paine.
My recent solo exhibition at Wimbledon took planetary devastation as its theme. It was well attended and I had a good reception both for the art and the message. Please see the photos.
Hopefully this next expedition will provide me with a lot more material and will inspire me. But you never know, hostile weather can destroy everything and I may not see a thing!

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

Michael Freedman Exhibition

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Ageism in the Art World

I could either be erudite and write a reasoned analysis of the situation or tell it like it is. I have opted for the latter.
I am really pissed off with the organisers of the majority of the competitions that seek artists to enter them. Many restrict entrants to those who are under 35! I have never seen a reason for this.
As a mature student, one of about 20% in our Universities, Art Schools and Colleges I am not able to enter. The same is true of those practising artists struggling for recognition, motivation and even reward who find themselves over the age barrier.
The assumption seems to be that only those under 35 should be eligible as those over that age have either achieved recognition or they are past it!
Many mature students, like me, come to art late in life, so why are we penalised and demotivated? Whatever happened to life- long learning and the notion of a flexible workforce?
Why not call for emerging artists or those with only so many years into their practice?
What is there to be afraid of? Talent will be recognised whatever its age.
So to the organisers……GET REAL.

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Exhibition Success

I held a successful exhibition at Shaftesbury Arts Centre. It’s a great space with good lighting and allowed me to show 11 large works of my Stonehenge oil on canvas exploits as well as my mixed media, including acids, on rusted steel experiments.

The work was very different to what they normally see there which is smaller, crowded, often water colour and not vey original.

The feed back on the steel pieces was very positive, they had never seen anything like that before. The Stonehenge pieces were also well received as being bold, colourful and strong images.

There was steady traffic all week but many people were either tourists or older,local residents who see the gallery as a place to go and see art but not to buy it!

My pieces were large, meaning you had to have good wall space and as one artist said, “the houses around here are small”. My prices were London prices but were consistent with what I saw in other, local galleries, although the art was different..

The week was a great success for me with lots of valuable lessons for the future. In particular, mounting a commercial exhibition is very different in many ways to a more academic show such as you see in University or in London’s east end.

Shaftesbury Arts Centre

Michael Freedman Show at Shaftesbury Arts Centre

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  • News

    This is a stream of consciousness page. I want to share ideas, thoughts, shows I have seen, books and articles I have read and other experiences that may impact my practice now or in the future. It will be updated irregularly and irreverently.