Rose Freymuth-Frazier was born and raised in Nevada City, California – a small gold rush town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After graduating from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan she moved to New York City to study oil painting. Seeking rigorous, technical training that most schools could not offer, she studied in a tradition common to painters of the past, through full-time apprenticeships. Her first apprenticeship was for two years under Steven Assael in his New York City studio and her second was with Odd Nerdrum in Norway. References from a broad swath of art history can be found in Freymuth-Frazier’s solitary subjects. Influences range from Balthus’s discomforting depictions of preadolescence, and the queen of Kitsch, Margaret Keane’s “Big Eyed” children and animals, to the heavy chiaroscuro and technical rigor of Caravaggio and Rembrandt. This unique combination of classicism and pulp results in something of a hybrid between Lowbrow esthetic and Old Master technique. Cultural references spanning 2000 years can also be found in Freymuth-Frazier’s work, from the Roman sculpture Sleeping Hermaphrodite, 2nd century A.D., to the recent porn video 2 Girls 1 Cup.

 

Using a complex language of symbolism like that found in medieval religious icons or the Unicorn Tapestries, the paintings address universal themes such as child development, sexuality, loss of innocence, consumerism, domestication, gender roles, androgyny and body image in our society today. Freymuth-Frazier’s work can be found in collections internationally such as The Seven Bridges Foundation in Connecticut and the John and Diane Marek Collection, in Tennessee. She has received attention from numerous Arts publications including ArtNews, The Chicago Tribune, Art Papers, American Artist Magazine, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, and The Huffington Post. Freymuth-Frazier is represented by Cavalier Galleries in New York City, Connecticut and Nantucket and Ann Nathan Gallery in Chicago. She lives and paints in New York City.