I See You2
Orginized by Sam Messer and Kiki Smith
June 27 through July 27, 2001
Fredericks & Freiser Gallery is pleased to announce I See You², a group exhibition of paintings, drawings, video, sculpture, and writing. This thirty-five–artist show presents portraits made by artists with long-standing personal or working relationships. Participating pairings include: Mel Bochner / Lizbeth Marano, Cecily Brown / Sean Landers, Linda Burnham / Thomas Trosch, Trey Ellis / Erika Ellis, Jonathan Safran Foer / Jullian Kreimer, Chie Fueki / Josh Marsh, Diamanda Galás / Robert Knoke, Ridley Howard / Holly Coulis, Maureen Gallace / Rob Gallace, Tom Sachs / Anh Duong / Gina Gershon, Amy Sillman / Fred Tomaselli, Sam Messer / Kiki Smith / Mario Testino, Suzanne McClelland / Rochelle Feinstein, among others.
Seven years ago, at the Moonhole Artists Colony in the West Indies, Sam Messer and Kiki Smith began drawing one another as a way to start their workday. Over time, this mutual portrait practice became a routine part of their friendship and studio process. At its best, the exchange operates like a collaboration, each artist’s temperament and visual language shaping the other’s response.
The premise of I See You² is to extend this intimate dynamic to a wider group of artists. Participants were invited to choose a partner with whom they share a significant relationship (husband and wife, siblings, teacher and student, studio mates, close friends) and to explore how such proximity influences the practice of portraiture.