Berry Campbell is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Frederick J. Brown's (1945-2012) abstract paintings for Frieze Masters 2024. These paintings were first exhibited in 1975 at Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York, and more recently, in 2021, Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims, former curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, curated an exhibition that brought renewed interest. These paintings reveal his unique approach to painting, drawing inspiration from both his African American and Native American heritages and Abstract Expressionism.
In 1970, Frederick J. Brown moved from Chicago's South Side to New York's avant-garde art scene in SoHo. Before renting his own loft, Brown stayed at saxophonist, Ornette Coleman's infamous loft on Prince Street known as the "Artist House." Among his influences and peers during the early 1970s were Romare Bearden and Frank Bowling. The centerpiece of our booth will be a monumental "Galaxy" painting (1970). This series was influenced by his studies with Buckminster Fuller. The abstract paintings in the presentation reveal the artist's energetic gestural brushwork coupled with a deep knowledge of color theory.
With renewed interest in Brown's paintings, a solo exhibition is being organized by The Phoenix Art Museum for 2025. This year, Brown has had solo exhibitions at The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. and the American Jazz Museum, Kansas City, Missouri. Brown's work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, among others.
