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Fredericks & Freiser presents a solo exhibition of new paintings by Cary Smith. Smith’s hard-edged abstract paintings find their individual character from their highly intuitive color interactions, boldly direct paint application, and hand-painted precision.
“Smith’s approach to composition has been primarily based on the need to develop a flexible framework on which to hang color: a modular “architecture” in which color can be manipulated to what are ultimately emotional ends. As varied as Smith’s paintings are, they all share a very specific emotional temperature that balances between the intellectual and the visceral. The consequence of this state is that those viewers who are conceptually oriented often perceive Smith’s paintings as being “warm”, while the intuitive observer often feels that they are “cold”. It is this space between the Dionysian and the Apollonian, however, that Smith’s work finds its strength…
Smith’s paintings, even those that utilize a gray palette, revel in color. The artist’s color sense is anything but formulaic, with color choices being meticulously worked out and specific forms often being repainted a slightly different shade weeks or months after initial completion. Smith speaks of color “wanting to be fresh” and this desire, which borders on the obsessive, has resulted in a heightened palette that is mildly psychedelic, but at the same time strangely sober. Smith, when he looks at one of his paintings, does not want to see paint, but rather a believable and real color experience.”
-Richard Klein, Exhibition Director, Aldrich Museum
Cary Smith was born in 1955 in Puerto Rico. He lives and works in Connecticut. Smith has had numerous solo shows. His most recent was at the Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, Ct. His group exhibitions include “The Jewel Thief” curated by Ian Berry and Jessica Stockholder at Tang Teaching Museum, “The Geometric Tradition in American Art” at Whitney Museum of American Art and “1989 Biennial Exhibition” at Whitney Museum of American Art. This will be his first exhibition at Fredericks & Freiser.
Cary Smith was born in 1955 in Puerto Rico. He lives and works in Connecticut. Smith has had numerous solo shows. His most recent was at the Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, Ct. His group exhibitions include “The Jewel Thief” curated by Ian Berry and Jessica Stockholder at Tang Teaching Museum, “The Geometric Tradition in American Art” at Whitney Museum of American Art and “1989 Biennial Exhibition” at Whitney Museum of American Art. This will be his first exhibition at Fredericks & Freiser.
Fredericks & Freiser Gallery
536 W 24th St., New York, NY 10011
