Urban Landscape
Artist
Ed Fraga
(American, born 1956)
Date2009
MediumWatercolor
DimensionsPaper Size: 15 × 22 1/2 in. (38.1 × 57.2 cm)
Frame Size: 19 1/2 × 26 1/2 in. (49.5 × 67.3 cm)
ClassificationsDrawing
Credit LineGift of the artist, 2009
Object numberUAC4012
DescriptionEd Fraga's paintings and assemblages are primarily concept-driven, often focusing on themes and work from the past and incorporating stylistic methods of the medieval and renaissance periods into many of his figurative paintings. The style and medium used by Fraga are noticeably in a constant state of flux dictated by the different motifs and ideas the artist wishes to convey. By incorporating unconventional materials to work with, Fraga in turn takes on a more expressive, experimental approach. With Urban Landscape, the artist works in watercolor to produce a darkened, decidedly bleak vision of the city. This framed perspective, encircled by a wash of black and dark blue, could be a reflection of the artist's own attitude, or a narrowing of the viewer's gaze, under which the landscape is transformed. The questions and concepts integrated into his process and obscured by an unusual use of media are later uncovered through their physical manifestation. A Detroit-based multimedia artist, Ed Fraga received his bachelor of fine arts from Wayne State University in 1980. In continuing to live and work in Detroit, Fraga has been awarded the Kresge Fellowship in 2009, and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Fellowship in 2011, among others. Recent works by the artist are currently on display as part of a solo exhibition entitled Tabula Rasa, at the Re:View Contemporary Gallery in Detroit, MI until November 29th.
Text By Claire Cirocco
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