Fredericka Foster

"When I paint water there is no obvious way to approach the moving subject. I look for large areas of color - then notice where the color changes."
-Fredericka Foster

Painter, printmaker, and photographer, Fredericka Foster, works primarily with oil on smooth gessoed or sanded surfaces. She also uses other less conventional techniques such as the Polaroid transfer method and egg tempera paints.

Foster was first recognized for her photography, especially her very straight-forward, unashamed nudes of older couples who seemed "at ease in aging skin." A Bucks County resident since 1992, she has been influenced by her natural surroundings in Tinicum Township. Foster was recognized for her 1996 AIDS-related exhibition, . In the late nineties, Foster worked with symbols of different faiths and explored the underlying archetypes, such as the tree of life, the crown, and the dove. She then began painting water, a ubiquitous element in both the spiritual and secular domains. The importance of water has deep personal significance to Foster and continues as she paints the Delaware River, the Delaware Canal, and Tinicum Creek near her Bucks County home. Foster has exhibited widely in the west and east coast as well as in Italy and France.

Education and Training
University of Washington, BA in Art, Seattle, Washington, 1972
Factory of Visual Arts, Seattle, Washington, 1972-1973

Teachers and Influences
Fredericka Foster's first figure drawing teacher was Seattle artist Selma Waldman. Jacob Lawrence taught Foster how to paint. Foster finds rewards in studying Monet's work, especially the ways in which he weds realism with abstraction. She received permission to paint flowers in the work of New York painter Pat Steirgave, and inspiration in the work of Mary Frank, a figurative artist who works with archetypal images, and Jennifer Barlett. Foster also admires the transformations of cellular forms present in the work of contemporary artist Terry Winters.

Connection to Bucks County
Fredericka Foster moved to Pipersville, Bucks County with her husband, in 1992. Although they also live part time in a SoHo loft in New York City, they fell in love with the Bucks County landscape. Foster says that she is continuously amazed by the diversity of plants, animals, and birds she observes every day. Fredericka Foster has shown in several local galleries and taught with the Doylestown Art League from 1993 to 1994.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Foster has enjoyed sharing work and ideas with Paul Matthews, Robert Beck, Glenn Harren, and Barbara White.
She is affiliated with Artsbridge of Lambertville, New Jersey.

Major Solo Exhibitions
Pelican Bay Gallery, Seattle, Washington, 1978
Portfolio, City Art Works, Seattle, Washington, 1981
Americaines Seules et Ensembles, Maison des Jeunes et de le Culture, Nice, France, 1983
Americaines Seules et Ensembles, Maison des Juenes et de le Culture, Cannes, France, 1983
Les Hommes Nus, Equivalents Gallery, Seattle , Washington, 1985
Waiting Tables, Swingside Cafe, Seattle, Washington, 1986
Frederika Foster: Prints, Paintings and Monotypes, Helen B. Smith Gallery, Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington, 1990
Exploration: Nude/Naked, TSS Gallery, New York, New York, 1992
Stover Mill Gallery, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, 1993
Deus/Virus: Transforming the Protease, Riverrun Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1996
Transforming the HIV Protease, The Norbert Considine Gallery, Stuart Country Day School, Princeton, New Jersey, 1996
From the Ground Up: Quiet House, Bellevue Art Museum, Duvall, Washington, 1999

Major Group Exhibitions
Photography 1980, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Washington, 1980
Erotica 1980, Gale Chase Gallery, Seattle, Washington, 1980
Les Hommes Nus: Fredericka Foster, Franck Guillon, Robert Roux, Arleri Centre Nicois de Photographie Documentaire, Nice, France, 1983
Autoportraits, Arleri Centre Nicois, Nice, France, 1984
Japan International Artists Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1984
Microsoft Group Show, Bellevue, Washington, 1988
Women in Washington: The First Century, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, 1989
100 Years in Washington State Photography, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Washington,1989
The Nude: Classic and Erotic, Silver Image Gallery, Seattle, Washington, 1990
Bumberbiennale: Seattle Photography 1931-1991, Seattle, Washington, 1991
The First National Polaroid Transfer Exhibition, First Prize, Nelleke Nix Studio Gallery, Kirkland, Washington, 1993
Phillips' Mill Annual Fall Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1993,1995
The Symbolic Essence of the Flower, The Culture Center, New York, New York, 1994
Fredericka Foster and Nivese, Fondation Sophia Antipolis, Sophia Antipolis, France,1994
A Hope, A Wish, and A Cry: Living with HIV, Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1996
The Phillip's Mill Photographic Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1998
Manna Benefit Auction, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1998
Gail Chase and Federicka Foster, SOHO 20, New York, New York, 1999
The Wedding, The Limelight, New York, New York, 1999
Art of the State, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1999
Shadfest Banner, Shad Festival Invitational, Artsbridge and the Lambertville, Chamber of Commerce, Lambertville, NJ, 1999
MARY MARY, Seattle Underground Film Festival, Chris Young, Co-Director, 2000
Turtle Times, Studio D'Ars, Milan, Italy, 2001
La Fontaine Exhibition (the Torrent and the River), Center for Advanced Art and Culture, in conjunction with the Maryland Institute, College of Art, and the Institute for American Universities, Aix en Provence, France, 2002
Art and Science, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lawrenceville, NJ, 2002