Foreign Bodies, 1981
oil on canvas
50 x 72 inches; 127 x 182.9 centimeters
LSFA# 10678
Many painters have celebrated the transcendent visuals of Southern California’s sun, sea and sky. However, few have used this region’s natural beauty to articulate as poignant, evocative and flat-out beautiful a vision as Frederick Wight.
Long a revered name in the history of Los Angeles’ art scene, Wight was a lynchpin of UCLA’s art department from 1953 - 1973 and namesake of the campus’ ‘Wight Gallery’, he initiated his career as a full time artist only after his retirement from UCLA in 1973.
Post teaching/curating/writing career(s), Wight dedicated his energies to creating paintings. Evanescent rainbow infused sunlight seems to radiate through the canvases. Moonlight acquires a geometry born of light and desert terrain becomes the basis for a vivid abstraction of life force incarnate. The scenes are all Californian but the spirit is solely Frederick Wight.
The artist’s work is included in numerous public and private collections. Louis Stern Fine Arts is the exclusive representative of the artist’s estate. A full color 125-page catalogue with text by Michael Duncan accompanies this exhibition.