Olivia Fraser

Lotus flower miniature painting on handmade paper, framed

2019

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

This series was inspired by a 1950’s era instruction manual found while clearing out my father’s basement workshop. The How To Light A Model manual employed voluptuous female models to teach lighting techniques to amateur photographers such as my father. Diagrams plot the prescribed direction of the lights. The nude women hold the pose, their lips bright red and their feet dirty from the studio floor. As naked props for the authoritarian photographer, their vulnerability seems palpable. This work visualizes the human condition as a balance between feral and fabricated worlds. Vivid, oversized creatures embody instinctual energy. Wax seals, gold spheres and text-like marks signify rational structures. One speaks in a whisper, the other in a hiss. Winifred McNeill...

Robert Petersen May 1987, 1987 Pure pigment collage, gold leaf, acrylic painting and drawing Signed, titled and dated on the front. The back of the frame bears the label of Castelli Uptown (4 East 77th Street) This is a unique work Frame Included: floated and framed in vintage wood frame under acrylic with Castelli label on back This unique mixed media Robert Petersen pigment collage, with drawing and gold leaf and acrylic painting is floated against beveled edges, then matted and framed in a gorgeous light wood museum frame. It bears the label of Castelli Uptown on the back. Petersen, an American contemporary artist born in 1945, worked as an assistant to Robert Rauschenberg for 10 years from 1970 to 1980. He is a versatile artist, working in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and collages, but is perhaps best known as a collagist, Robert Petersen was born in 1943 in the small farm town of Le Mars, Iowa. Petersen lived and worked closely with Rauschenberg on Captiva Island until 1980. In 1973, Petersen had his first solo show at Galerie Sonnabend in Paris, France, which was followed by numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His work is represented in private and public collections internationally including the Centre Georges Pompidou, Musee National d'Art Moderne in Paris, France; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Francois Pinault, Venice, Italy; Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York, NY; James Rosenquist, Aripeka, FL; Ileana & Michael Sonnabend, New York, NY; Cy Twombly Foundation, Rome, Italy, and Universal Limited Art Editions, NY. Measurements: Framed: 31 inches x 38.25 inches x 1.75 inches Artwork: 25 inches x 32 inches More about Robert Petersen: Robert Petersen was born in 1945 in the small farm town of Le Mars, Iowa and was raised there until 1952 when he moved with his family to Whittier, California. His education as an artist began in 1963 at Fullerton Community College where his interest in architectural drafting led him to develop a passion for drawing, painting, and printmaking. In 1966, he pursued his love for printmaking further at California State University, Long Beach under the former Tamarind Lithography Workshop printer, Robert Evermon. In 1969, Petersen went on to work as an assistant printer at Gemini G.E.L. where he printed editions for Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg. Most notably, Petersen served as one of the head printers for Rauschenberg's Stoned Moon series, during which the two formed a close friendship. In late 1970, Rauschenberg invited Petersen to live and work with him on Captiva Island, Florida, which had recently become the artist's permanent residence and studio. In 1971, Rauschenberg and Petersen established the experimental print shop, Untitled Press, Inc., where they not only printed their own work but also for visiting artists including David Bradshaw, Brice Marden, Hisachika Takahashi, Cy Twombly, and Robert Whitman. Petersen lived and worked closely with Rauschenberg on Captiva Island until 1980. During the early 1970's Petersen predominately created monochromatic minimalist work and then began to explore the possibilities presented by his intricate sketch pages. In 1976, Petersen made his first monthly inspired journal drawing from the highlights of his sketchbook where he collected observations of daily surroundings, drawings for future work, musings, postcards, photographs, and ephemera such as calendar clippings and magazine illustrations. This technique continues to serve as the basis for his present work. In 1973, Petersen had his first solo show at Galerie Sonnabend in Paris, France, which was followed by numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His work is represented in private and public collections internationally including the Centre Georges Pompidou, Musee National d'Art Moderne in Paris, France; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Francois Pinault, Venice, Italy; Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York, NY; James Rosenquist, Aripeka, FL; Ileana & Michael Sonnabend, New York, NY; Cy Twombly Foundation, Rome, Italy, and Universal Limited Art Editions, NY. Petersen currently works in Tivoli, NY where he lives with his wife, Cinda Sparling...

Inflation by David Breuer-Weil (b. 1965) Pencil and gold leaf on paper 43 x 66 cm (16 ⁷/₈ x 26 inches) Signed and dated twice in the centre Executed in 2022