Talking Art in Maine: An Intimate Conversation with Philip Frey
Talking Art in Maine is a series of intimate conversations between artist, Jane Dahmen, and notable artists and curators who have made a substantial contribution to the arts in the state of Maine.

Words of Praise for Philip’s Work

“Frey’s art occupies the nexus between contemporary painting and brushy traditionalism. If there is a focus to this new direction in Maine painting, his art is it. ”

— Daniel Kany, writer and art critic

“Gestural and expressive use of paint conveys a sense of immediacy—a nowness—to Frey’s work that helps bring the viewer into the moment. There is no agenda here, no greater purpose, than to share a love for the world and a deep sense of place.”

— Ric Kasini Kadour, arts writer, "Philip Frey: Lavish Attention"

“Frey always reminds the viewer that there is a brush and a stroke, human energy, embedded in the painting, that the maker is here—but not here.”

— Annaliese Jakimides, arts writer, "Moment[um], moment—present, moment—strength"

“One relishes the immediacy and inventive nature of Frey’s creations, and the dynamic movement in his work. A painting sometimes has a dappled quality as he plays a short brushstrokes on the canvas to build the scene. This painterly technique adds to the sense of motion and shifting light, whether it’s a seascape, a study of a curled-up nude, or a patchwork tidal zone. The planar configurations hark back to the Cubists and Cézanne.”

— Carl Little, author, "Painterly Revelations"

“As a painter, Philip Frey’s goal is often a project of soft persuasion. We recognize his scenes easily enough. But as we shift our focus from the recognizable subject to the insistent forms, luscious brushwork, and compositional design, the painting slips out of representational focus and back to abstraction, the true place of Frey’s poetry.”

— Daniel Kany, writer and art critic, "Systems, Solitude, and Soft Persuasion"

“Frey is among the many gifted individuals who live and work in a state known for its inspiring beauty and rich artistic history. Most noteworthy of Frey’s work is his brilliance as a colorist. “Here and Now” is the first book about Philip’s artistic journey. His willingness to take risks has kept his work fresh. And his steadfast devotion to perceptual painting—to what lies before him in the here and now—has yielded an abundance of honest and beautiful paintings.”

— George Kinghorn, curator Zillman Art Museum, Introduction in "Here and Now"

“Philip Frey is a teller of the story of place. He’s imprinted with—not merely physical place, but something more akin to its interiority and the energy that illuminates it. And so, therefore, are his paintings, whether they be docks and boats, landscapes, living rooms, and staircases, or flowers from his meticulously tended garden. Moment[um] allows us to wander through a deep Frey world. Open and timeless.”

— Annaliese Jakimides, arts writer, "Moment[um], moment—present, moment—strength"