Fredericka Foster

Fredericka Foster is an American artist known for oil painting and photography.

Lake Union, 2013, 42 x 64," oil on canvas, by Fredericka Foster

Fredericka Foster
Born	Seattle, Washington
Nationality	United States
Education	B.A., University of Washington, Factory of Visual Arts
Occupation	Artist, Activist
Known for	painting, photography, curating and participating in The Value of Water, at The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York
Spouse(s)	Bennett M. Shapiro, MD
Website	http://www.frederickafoster.com/

Early life and education

Foster, a graduate of the University of Washington, was also a student and taught at the Factory of Visual Arts, a professional art school founded in Seattle as an alternative to the traditional university art education.[1]

Career

Foster works primarily with the theme of water to raise awareness of its centrality to life; how its movement shapes the world socioeconomically, environmentally and subconsciously. An accomplished colorist[2] using a limited palette and many layers of paint,[3] she works "in the romantic landscape tradition of Dove, Hartley, Burchfield and O’Keeffe."[4] Her Buddhist practice influences her work.[5][6][7]

Solo shows include five Water Way shows at the Fischbach Gallery in New York[8][9] and an exhibition at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries.[10] She has been in group shows in the United States and Europe, including The Flag Project for the Rubin Museum of Art opening in New York;[11] The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies on the feminine divine,[12] and Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls[13][14] at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine; and is in many private and public collections.

Foster is also known for curating and participating in The Value of Water,[15] at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. The largest exhibition to ever appear at the Cathedral,[16] it featured over forty artists, including Jenny Holzer, Robert Longo, Mark Rothko, William Kentridge, April Gornik and Bill Viola,[17][18] anchoring a year long initiative by the Cathedral on our dependence upon water.[19][20]

Her collaborations with non-profit organizations and scientists to educate about the water crisis[21] include a presentation of her work to a group of two hundred and fifty scientists[5] and 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;[22] an exhibition and talk at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries;[23] and Like a Circle in Water,[24] part of the Elements video series, commissioned by the Tricycle Foundation in 2014. Foster and Hilda O’Connell[25] contributed a chapter on 15th century Italian art[26] to Art Beyond Sight's Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment,[27] an art education book and compact disk designed to give visual experiences to people with impaired sight. A complementary video, Art Beyond Sight: A Demonstration of Practical Techniques, was co-produced with the Museum of Modern Art.[28]

Selected bibliography

• Tara Lohan, ed. (2010). Water Matters: Why We Need to Act Now to Save Our Most Critical Resource. AlterNet Books; Washington (DC).
• 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.
• Foster, Hilda O’Connell (2003). Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment, 15th Century Italian Art chapter. Art Beyond Sight, American Foundation for the Blind, Art Education for the Blind.

Films

• 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.[29]
• 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

• 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

References

1. "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.
2. Ratcliff, Carter. "Carter Ratcliff – An Aqueous Cosmology: The Art of Fredericka Foster". Fischbach Gallery, Waterworks catalogue. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
3. "Fredericka Foster Brings Water Way Exhibit to Beacon Institute". The Highlands Current. April 5, 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
4. Maine, Stephen. "Into the Deep". stephenmaine.com/. Fischbach Gallery Catalogue. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
5. Carey, Brainard (September 5, 2017). "Fredricka Foster". Museum of Nonvisble Art. Praxis Interview Magazine, Yale University Radio. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
6. Foster, Fredericka (Summer 2014). "Fredericka Foster A contemporary artist on environmental Buddhism". tricycle.org. Tricycle Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
7. Glass, Phillip; Foster, Fredericka; Jacobs, Beth. "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.
8. Strasuick, Stephanie (September 1, 2013). "Fredericka Foster, review of "Water Way"". ARTnews (8, Volume 112, pg. 100 - 101). ARTnews.
9. "Fredericka Foster Biography". fischbachgallery.com. Fischbach Gallery. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
10. Rooney, Alison (April 5, 2014). "Water Way: The Paintings of Fredericka Foster". The Highland Current. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
11. Winchester, Simon; Paul, Katherine Anne (April 2007). Flag Project: Contemporary Artists Celebrate the Opening of the New Museum. Rubin Museum of Art. ISBN 9780977213108.
12. "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.
13. "Meet the Artists: Fredericka Foster". stjohndivine.org. Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
14. "The Value of Sanctuary". stjohndivine.org. Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
15. Bukauskas, Dovilas. "The Value of Water". worldpolicy.org. World Policy Institute. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
16. Miller, Reverend Canon, Tom. "The Value of Water Exhibition". UCLA Art Science Center. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
17. Escobedo Shepherd, Julianne (September 30, 2011). "10 Must-See Artists at "The Value of Water," a Conversationist Art Show in New York". AlterNet.org. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
18. Cotter, Mary. "Manhattan Cathedral Examines "The Value of Water" in a New Star-Studded Art Exhibition". inhabitat.com. inhabitat. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
19. Rev. Dr. A. Kowalski, James. "The Cathedral of St. John the Divine and The Value of Water". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
20. Foster, Fredericka. "The Value of Water at St John the Divine". vimeo.com. Sara Karl. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
21. WHO/UNICEF (2015). "Progress on sanitation and drinking water 2015 update and MDG assessment". World Health Organization. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
22. "Assembly 2018, Highlights 2017". sageassembly.org. Sage Bionetworks. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
23. "Water Way, The Paintings of Fredericka Foster". bire.org. Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, Clarkson University. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
24. Gladstone, Andrew Chan. "Like A Circle In Water". acgladstone.com. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
25. Emory, Sami. "80-Year-Old Artist 'Hilda' Shines in a New Documentary". vice.com. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
26. "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.
27. "Art Education for the Blind Publications". artbeyondsight.org. Art Beyond Sight. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
28. 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.
29. Foster, Fredericka. "Like a Circle in Water". vimeo.com. Tricycle Foundation. Retrieved 28 August 2018.