education

Cooper Union for the advancement of science and art
bachelor of arts
(full scholoarship)

exhibitions

Samuel Jackson Gallery, New York
March 2002

the apartment, New York
July 2003

New York Public Library, New York
comissioned painting of library on display in private office
june, 2006 - present

biography and statement

Fred Gates moved to New York City from Buffalo, New York at age 18 to study painting and graphic design at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. While painting during a sucessful graphic design career, he began exhibiting and selling work only since 2001. He has focused on the evocative power of buildings and cityscapes, while attempting to create a level of abstraction and ambiguity that allows the viewers their own interpretations.

"To me the most exciting thing about making paintings is the connection you make with the person who ultimately will live with the work ... it's a dialogue where I bring certain ideas and concepts visually to the person,then they add their own personal history, language and experience to it ... the painting 'lives' in that space between us."

The choice to use found materials as "canvas" also creates an immediacy and sense of place, where one can almost see the paintings as being created out of the subject itself. (In some cases it is.)

Mr. Gates' work is currently in private collections internationally.