NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection Exhibition, WaterFire Arts Center (2024) Bio:
David Frazer Professor Emeritus, Painting Department, Fine Arts Division, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has a BFA from RISD 1970 and an MA from University of New Mexico (UNM) 1976, both in painting.
He taught painting and drawing at RISD 1978 – 2020 and was Chair of the Painting Department nine years. Frazer was appointed Chief Critic for the RISD European Honors Program and lived in Rome 1995-’98. He continued to return to Rome and teach summer courses in painting and drawing at the Palazzetto Cenci Roma, for the next eight years.
In 1989 he did sponsored research at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine arts in Hangzhou, China, now the Central Academy of Art (CAA). Since 2014 he has had exhibitions in Shenyang, Hangzhou, Jinan, Urumqi, Karamay, Hami, and Beijing.
Recent solo exhibitions: Qualia Contemporary, Palo Alto, CA 2021 and 2023
Nancy Devine Gallery, Warren, RI 2024
Original NetWorks Catalogue Bio:
In 1978 David Frazer began teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design, and he is still there in 2016, as head of the painting department. Frazer received his BFA from RISD in 1970, and as a participant in the European Honors Program, he traveled in Italy and The Netherlands, becoming influenced by the painting techniques of Giotto and Piero della Francesca. He later became the chief critic of the RISD/Rome program, the first alumnus to do so. Frazer obtained an MA in painting from the University of New Mexico. Collage and abstract expressionist painting inform his aesthetic and structural process; although his paintings allude to printing or transfer techniques, they do not use them. His work is primarily abstract and improvisational and plays with symbolic images. Frazer’s paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including in South Korea and China, where he has also been a visiting artist and lecturer.
Source: NetWorks 2015-2016 Catalogue
Oil on canvas, 72 x 66 in.
Credits:
Video: Richard Goulis
Executive Producer: Joseph A. Chazan, M.D.
Additional Resources:
- Artist’s Website: david-frazer.com/index.html
- RISD Faculty Bio
Highlighting the work of selected artists who have played vital roles in shaping the contemporary visual arts community in Rhode Island. This collection of brief video portraits provides a window into the lives, practices, and cultural contributions of professional artists.
