As a little girl, Rose Freymuth-Frazier agonized over painting her bike cherry-red or hot-pink. “I chose cherry-red,” she says, “only to repaint it hot-pink within hours.
“My work still deals with issues of ‘hot-pink’ and ‘perfection.’ Gender roles, sexuality and societal conditioning have all found their way into my paintings.”
Her provocatively erotic paintings will be shown in the exhibition Come in Peace at Stone Sparrow NYC in New York, April 20 through May 25.
Peace Cadet, oil on linen, 70 x 50"
When asked how men respond to her powerful depictions of women and if they might respond more to their nudity or erotic poses rather than the projection of their inner selves, she replied, “Looking at this show, which includes paintings spanning the last 15 years, I’m struck by just how much my work and the world have changed. As a younger woman, I chafed under the pressure of a society that subjected women to a predictable dull roar of objectification which permeated daily life. I resented it and my work reflected that. As I’ve gotten older, I do see the world changing in profound ways. It’s not perfect. It’s clumsy and awkward. The pendulum swings violently at times, but I think we are heading in the right direction.”
Eve of Destruction, oil on linen, 54 x 34"
During the pandemic, she was restricted to herself and her Persian cat Bun Ra for models. Bun Ra “represents all things mystical, intuitive and badass. She’s a survivor and she won’t let you forget it.” In that, she reflects the human female figures in her mistress’s dramatically colorful paintings.
Mother and Child, oil on linen, 24 x 20"
She tired of painting herself and Bun Ra and found new inspiration “in the space-babe imagery of the 1960s and 1970s. These women in fashion and art were depicted as heroines. They were brave and competent in the face of danger, but there was also a sense of alienation and isolation about them that I could relate to. I used these images as a jumping off point to think about this futuristic present we find ourselves in (which is something of a space-age as well) with all its concerns, such as climate, war and disease. When I start a painting, the concept is pretty clear, but often somewhere along the way, an idea will surface that solidifies the concept even more. For example, the flowers cascading from the ray gun in Peace Cadet were added as the work was in progress, and I think it really helped tie the painting together.” —
Stone Sparrow NYC
45 Greenwich Avenue • New York, NY 10014
(646) 449-8004 • www.stonesparrownyc.com
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