I See You2
Orginized by Sam Messer and Kiki Smith
June 27 through July 27, 2001
Fredericks & Freiser Gallery is pleased to announce a group exhibition of painting, drawing, video, sculpture and writing. This thirty-five artist show pairs portraits painted by artists who have long-standing relationships. Artists include: Mel Bochner/ Lizbeth Marano, Cecily Brown/ Sean Landers, Linda Burnham/ Thomas Trosch, Trey Ellis/ Erika Ellis, Jonathan Safran Foer/ Jullian Kreimer, Chie Fueki/ Josh Marsh, Diamanda Galas/ Robert Knoke, Ridley Howard/ Holly Coulis, Maureen Gallace/ Rob Gallace, Tom Sachs/ Anh Duong/ Gina Gershon, Amy Sillman/ Fred Tomaselli, Sam Messer/ Kiki Smith/ Mario Testino, Suzanne McClelland/ Rochelle Feinstein, and Others
Seven years ago at the Moonhole Artists Colony in the West Indies, Sam Messer and Kiki Smith began drawing each other as a way to begin work each day. Over the years they have continued to jointly make portraits as a routine part of their friendship and working process. In the best of situations, this interaction becomes a collaboration. Each artist’s aesthetic and personality affects the other person’s work. The premise of this exhibition is to allow other artists to explore the affect of similarly close relationships on the practice of portraiture. Artists were asked to choose a partner with whom they have a particularly close relationship—husband and wife, brother and sister, teacher and student, studio mates, close friends, ect.