Artist Statement

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Sit down at the end of the dock and allow the drama of the sunset to soak in. Your inner voice is quieted. The events of the day or concerns about tomorrow drop away. These paintings are a visual record of this experience. They are not about how the landscape looks as much as about how the landscape can make one feel.

Myriad conditions of light created by the time of day and the weather illuminate textures in the water, patterns in the clouds, and juxtapositions of color that richly vibrate with one another. Water exists in the sky as mist and clouds and sheets of rain that fall softly or with driving insistence. Water can be calm and reflective or take on the texture of the wind or light. One can fill their field of vision with the sky, or watch the reflection of the clouds in the water, or dip their gaze down to the rocks whose shapes waver beneath the surface. There is no one view that captures the entirety of how one experiences a place in time but rather it is more effectively expressed as an amalgam of views.

To achieve this awareness, elements of the landscape are pulled apart and selectively reconfigured. Where the viewer is gently led away from a directly observed image to one where a balance is struck between the known and the felt. The surface is organized into separate areas where one can then experience the landscape as a vista across a body of water, as the transparency of light and objects seen beneath the water, and the combinations of light and color that play together among all of these views. The viewer can be drawn deep into the visual space or skate along the surface.

These shifting points of view allow me to selectively pull elements from the visual experience that most effectively express a heightened awareness of the felt experience of the place.

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Artist Biography

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Fredendall grew up on the western bank of the Delaware River, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Here, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Pennsylvania Impressionists took up residence in inexpensive farmhouses and disused industrial properties. They set about painting the landscape along the river and the once-bustling Delaware Canal. The whole region remains a nexus of artists and craftspeople. Fredendall was surrounded by these artists growing up and both of her parents were artisans.

Fredendall, born in 1966, lives in New Hope, a former mill town 40 miles from Philadelphia. She and her husband, Alex Damevski, share an 18th-century house on a sparsely populated two-lane road that cuts through the fields. Her studio is in an adjacent white-clapboard structure that once housed a general store. She paints in the second floor of the building and uses the ground floor as a showcase for her work.

Fredendall earned a B.A. in art history from Duke University in 1988, and after a course at Le Cordon Bleu in London, returned home to work as a pastry chef while she completed an M.Ed. in 1992 in art education and coursework in Painting at Arcadia University. Her degree work led her to a position as a visual art instructor at the Solebury School, a private college-preparatory school and started her on the path towards a career as an artist.

This body of work on acid etched tin has its roots in Fredendall's work with her mother who apprenticed with a man who made colonial tin lighting fixtures. Her father was building period homes and needed lighting that fit the historic reproductions. Building on the skills she learned as an apprentice, Fredendall's mother built a small business crafting lighting from tin and copper. Fredendall worked with her mom for years, learning how to work with the tin and it is from this experience that these pieces on tin were born. The acid washes leave a distinctly watery feel on the surface. Using oil glazes over the surface creates an elusive landscape that builds on the watery marks beneath.

Fredendall’s artworks have been presented in numerous group and solo shows throughout the country and her work is represented by galleries in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.

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Education

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1992
Arcadia University, Glenside, PA
M.Ed, Art Education & Painting

1988
Duke University, Durham, NC
BA, Art History

1987
Boston University Abroad Studies Program, London, England
British Art and Architecture Program

1986
Duke University, Florence, Italy
Renaissance Arts Program

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Awards and Honors

2020
Philadelphia/Tri State Artist's Equity Annual Juried Show, Philadelphia, PA
Third Place Award, Bridgette Mayer, Juror

2017
Spring Gala Exhibition and Benefit, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Honorable Mention

2016
Artists of Yardley, First Choice Bank, Yardley, PA
2nd Place Award

2015
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation: The Power of Art

2000
New American Paintings, Juried Artists, Open Studio Press, Spring 2000

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Bibliography

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2021
Zielinski, Patti, Artist’s Way (Featured Artist), River Towns Magazine, Summer 2021

2020
Kaufman, Jason Edwards, Nature Study (Featured Artist), Luxury Magazine, Spring 2020

"Nature Study," Luxury Magazine, Spring 2020

2018
Kaulessar, Ricardo, "Artwork with various 'ViewPoints' featured in new Montclair art exhibition", Newjersey.com, May 2018

Create Magazine, 7th Exhibition Benefit

Exhibition By Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Fall 2018

2017
Fragile Express, February 8, 2017

2016
Brewster, Don, “New,” DoNArTNeWs, Philadelphia Art News Blog by Don Brewster, October 2016

English, M., “Plymouth Meeting dentist, wife to display photography, landscapes in upcoming studio show,” 21st Century Media Services, The Times Herald: Art Galleries, October 2016

“Art of the State” finalists dominated by Philly area, Stephen Salisbury, Philly.com, June 1, 2016

2015
English, M., “Shared exhibit at New Hope Gallery,” 21st Century Media Services, The Times Herald: Art Galleries, November 2015

2011
Stadd, Allison, “Add Sugar And Stir: Cookbooks And The Lives Of Women Is On Display At The Michener Museum In Doylestown Beginning March 19,” UWISHUNU, Philadelphia, March 2, 2011

2007
Collins, Shannon, "Blending a lyrical, New York School gesturalism with intense areas of pure hue, (Fredendall's) paintings are a celebration of the versatility of color and reveal the depth of human experience," LifeStyle Magazine, April 2007

"Town Topics," Women & Cookbooks Show at Peggy Lewis Gallery, March 2007

"Kirby Fredendall Serves Cookbooks in Art Exhibition," Bucks County Herald, March 2007

2002
Rivera, F.R., “Morpeth Gallery,” US 1 Art Review, September 2002

2000
"New American Paintings, Juried Artists," Open Studio Press, Spring 2000

1998
“Looking Ahead (Featured Artist),” Art Matters, Philadelphia's Regional Magazine of the Arts, Spring/Summer 1998

1997
Huntington, Richard, “The Persistence of Modernism and Other Tales From Delaware and Surrounds,” Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts Newsletter, Summer 1997

1995
Francis, Anna, “Exhibit Curator Calls for a Return to Beauty,” Art Matters, December/January

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Publications

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2020
Luxury Magazine, Spring 2020
Featured Cover Artist

2017
Create! Magazine, Spring 2017

Fragile Express, February 8, 2017

Fresh Paint Magazine, August 14, 2016

2016
“Kirby Fredendall,” Fresh Paint Magazine, August 14, 2016

2000
“Juried Artists Spring,” New American Paintings, Open Studio Press, Spring 2000

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Collections

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Kaufelt Collection, Murray’s Cheese, New York, NY
Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA
Davis Enterprises, Mt. Laurel, NJ
Kettles & Smith Collection, Gr8 People, New Hope, PA
Denise Gindhart Consulting, Spring City, PA

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Professional Experience

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Art Instructor, Solebury School, Solebury, PA

Exhibitions

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Solo

2022
New Work, LAA Art Collective, New Hope, PA

Walton Center Gallery, George School, Newtown, PA

2021
Candita Clayton Gallery, New London, NH

2020
Horizons Lines, InLiquid at Archer Law, Philadelphia, PA

2019
Impressions of Water, Candita Clayton Gallery, Pawtucket, RI

Water Meeting the Sky, Welcome Gallery, Main Line Arts Center, Haverford, PA

2016
Balance of Light, Bazemore Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2013
Kirby Fredendall: New Work, Reinboth Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

2011
Add Sugar & Stir: Cookbooks in the Lives of American Women, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA

2010
Kirby Fredendall: New Work, Reinboth Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

2009
Kirby Fredendall: Paintings, Reinboth Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

2007
Add Sugar and Stir: Cookbooks in the Lives of American Women, Peggy Lewis Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

2002
Kirby Fredendall: Paintings, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ

Conversations, Soul Works, Furlong, PA

2001
Kirby Fredendall: Paintings, Emerald City Fine Art, Seattle, WA

1998
Kirby Fredendall: Paintings, Multiple Choice Gallery, Montgomery County Community College, Blue Bell, PA

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Two and Three Person

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2023
Endless Summer, Candita Clayton Gallery, New London, NH

Landscapes, Sarah Gormley Gallery, Columbus, OH

2022
Three Gallery Artists, LAA Collective Gallery, New Hope, PA

2018
Landscapes: Kirby Fredendall and Mirjam Seeger, InLiquid at Crane Hall, Philadelphia, PA

2015
Kirby Fredendall & Alex Damevski: A Dialogue, A Space Gallery, New Hope, PA

1997
Modern or Post-Modern? Three Abstract Painters, Nancy Moore Gallery, New York, NY

1996
Two Painters, Union League Club Art Gallery, New York, NY

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Group

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2024
Love and Other Stuff, Sarah Gormley Gallery, Columbus, OH

2023
Gratitude, Sarah Gormley Gallery, Columbus, OH

Winter Gallery Artists, Candita Clayton Gallery, Providence, RI

94th Annual Juried Show, Phillips Mill Association, New Hope PA

Summer Installation, New Hope Arts, New Hope, PA

2022
Pump it Up Gala (Selected Artists), Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA

Gallery Artists Summer & Fall Shows, Candita Clayton Gallery, New London, NH

93rd Annual Juried Show, Phillips Mill Association, New Hope, PA

3rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Maker's Alley, Frenchtown, NJ

Viewpoints 2022, Studio Montclair, Montclair, NJ

New Hope Arts Salon, New Hope Arts League, New Hope, PA

2021
Annual 79th Juried Exhibition: Seeing the Story, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA

Hope and Possibility, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Summer Group Show, Candita Clayton Gallery, New London, NH

2020
LAA Art Advisory, The Gallery at Main Line Coop, Wayne, PA

Philadelphia/Tri State Artist's Equity Annual Juried Show, Philadelphia, PA
Bridgette Mayer, Juror

Gallery Artists, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Professional Member's Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

Member’s Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

New Hope Arts Salon, New Hope Arts League, New Hope, PA

2019
Professional Member’s Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

Gallery Artists, Bluestone Fine Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Really Big Group Show, Candita Clayton Gallery, Pawtucket, RI

Transitions, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA

2018
Benefit Exhibition for the Friends of the Rail Park, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

American Visions, Michener Museum, Doylestown, PA

Summer Show Gallery Artists, Candita Clayton Gallery, Pawtucket, RI

51st Art of the State, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA

Pictures at an Exhibition, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope, PA

Viewpoints 2018, Studio Montclair, Montclair, NJ

Professional Member’s Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

2017
Winter Show Gallery Artists, Candita Clayton Gallery, Pawtucket, RI

Member’s Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

National Juried Show, Larkin Arts, Harrisonburg, VA

Water Ways: A Greater Philadelphia Region Artist Installation, Freemans Art Gallery, Wayne, PA

Fresh Hues, Media Arts Center, Media, PA

154th Exhibition of Small Oils, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA

Spring Gala Exhibition and Benefit, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

2016
215/610 Contemporary, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

New Hope Arts Salon, New Hope Arts League, New Hope, PA

New Hope Historical Society Art Show, New Hope Arts League, New Hope, PA

49th Art of the State, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA

West Chester Arts Walk, Blank Canvas Gallery, West Chester, PA

5th Annual Juried Show, Artists of Yardley, Yardley, PA

2015
Annual Show, New Hope Art League, New Hope, PA

Annual Show, Abington Art Center, Abington, PA

2014
Mixed Media & Photography, Bucks County Project Gallery, Doylestown, PA

Annual Show, New Hope Arts, New Hope, PA

2013
Annual Show, InLiquid, Philadelphia, PA

2009
Summer Gallery Artists, Ocean Gallery at Barnegate Light, Barnegate, NJ

2008
Gallery Artists, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ

2006
Gallery Artists, Trimbur Henry Gallery, Doylestown, PA

2005
Works on Paper, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ

Gallery Artists, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ

2004
37th Art of the State, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA

Gallery Artists, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ

2003
Bucks County Artists: A Cross Section, Bucks County Community College, Newtown, PA

2002
Gallery Artists, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ

2001
34th Art of the State, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA

Gallery Artists, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ

2000
Shaping the American Landscape, Unison Arts Gallery, New Paltz, NY

Beginnings & Endings, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

1999
32nd Art of the State, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA

Under One Foot, Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

71st Annual Exhibition, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA

9th Annual Exhibition, Lyet Gallery, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA

1998
National Juried Open Exhibition, The STAGE Gallery, Merrick, NY

Artsbridge at Prallsville Mill, Prallsville Mill Gallery, Stockton, NJ

Gallery Artists, Nancy Moore Gallery, New York, NY

Member’s Juried Exhibition, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

1996
Fin de Siecle, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

Summer Group Exhibition, Nancy Moore Gallery, New York, NY

Inside/Out, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

144” Square, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT

Two Up, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

1995
Return to Beauty, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE