Women Artists

Conversations with Naomi Frears

Candy Bedworth 6 November 2019 min Read

Naomi Frears is a visual artist and filmmaker based in the Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, UK. I was lucky enough to touch base with this incredible artist as her new exhibition begins at Beaux Arts, London. The exhibition consists of over 25 new works using oil on canvas, acrylic on wood, dry point on linen and mono printing.

Naomi Frears
Naomi Frears, Baby Grand, Beaux Arts, London

The figure, and the space around it, seem to be an obsession for Frears. A film-maker as well as a painter, I asked if visual art and film complemented each other or competed for her head space. She answered that they are both great ways to think about things visually. In fact, in her paintings, Frears might be said to use an editing process similar to that of film: framing, moving, removing and introducing new elements with paint. As a result, the paintings often have shadows or ghosts of previous ideas, figures, and structures visible within the painting.

Naomi Frears, He Looks Like You, Beaux Arts, London.

In this new series of work Frears depicts a variety of enigmatic human forms, that simultaneously confront the viewer and appear lost in their own worlds. The vast space gives no indication of any concrete context, but possesses a certain depth that pulls the viewer in. Frears sometimes describes her works as love letters, though she is not always sure to whom they are addressed. She describes the process of painting as ‘choosing every day to be completely lost – often happy lost.’ I asked Frears to describe this further:

‘The really exciting bit is the beginning. I am confident and everything is in front of me. The middle involves me changing my mind many times about what the painting could or should be. When I finish a painting I am happy and relieved – it doesn’t need me anymore.’

Naomi Frears
Naomi Frears, From The Garden Drawings Rousham, Beaux Arts, London

As an artist with a wide range of skills and interests, I asked Frears if she had a favourite medium or tool, and she replied that she loves printmaking. Having seen the front covers she produced for the London Review of Books, I must agree. In past years, Frears has run supportive printmaking sessions for young people, allowing them to dive into the experience even if they have no background in art or printing.

Naomi Frears, London Review of Books, selection of front cover artwork, naomifrears.com

Born in 1963 in a Leicestershire village, Frears studied art at Sunderland and Loughborough, but has lived and worked in Cornwall for many years. Frears’ workspace in St Ives is one of the famous Porthmeor Studios, previously occupied by Francis Bacon, who described it as ‘the best room in St Ives’. Artists have worked in these old fishing industry buildings since the 1880s.

Naomi Frears
Naomi Frears, Porthmeor Studio, St Ives, Cornwall. Photo courtesy of Damson Comms.

Sitting directly above the beach with huge windows looking out to sea, Porthmeor Studio has been home to some of the great names of British art including Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, and Roger Hilton. I ask if this is this inspiring or intimidating? Frears says inspiring. She calls the space magical, the perfect studio, and enthuses that it’s great to be in such an extraordinary space with such a history.

Naomi Frears studio photo courtesy of Damson Comms.

Frears says
that having a dedicated studio space is vital to her as an artist. And she
spends a lot of time there – she works hard – usually five days a week, and
every single day during the run-up to an exhibition.

Naomi Frears
Naomi Frears, Untitled, Beaux Arts, London.

Her works are
incredibly personal and intimate. Frears spends years building up layers of
paint, removing it, changing things around. She may live alongside a canvas for
years before she feels it is ready to leave the studio. These are objects with a
psychic presence, almost like friends, or children.

Naomi Frears
Naomi Frears, At Night, Beaux Arts, London.

Gallery
education has always been a part of Frears’ life. She lives and breathes art,
giving back to the wider community. Inspired both by her contemporaries and by
more senior artists she says she is excited to see the Danh Vo show at South
London Gallery. To young artists she says just keep going and make sure you
have a few people around you with whom you can have good conversations.

Painter,
printer, film-maker, curator and educator – I urge you to take the time to have
a conversation with the work of the multi-talented Naomi Frears.

The Naomi Frears exhibition runs until 30 November 2019 at Beaux Arts London.

Get your daily dose of art

Click and follow us on Google News to stay updated all the time

Recommended

Women Artists

A Full-Fledged Painter: Josephine Nivison Hopper

Josephine Verstille Hopper (née Nivison, 1883-1968) was not just the wife and muse of one of the most renowned American artists of the 20th century,...

Georgian Manea 26 February 2024

Women Artists

Lady Dada? Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and the Revolution of Conceptual Art

When Doja Cat sparkled in 30,000 crimson Swarovski crystals at Paris Fashion Week, the American rapper walked down the red carpet literally a statue...

Kero Fichter 15 February 2024

Women Artists

Rediscovering Emily Sargent: Forgotten 19th-Century Watercolorist

A prolific watercolorist living in 19th-century Europe, Emily Sargent created vibrant scenes with painterly virtuosity. Despite living in the shadow...

Natalia Iacobelli 12 February 2024

Women in art academies. Alice Barber, Women's life class, 1879, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Women Artists

Education Matters! Women in Art Academies

From the 17th to the 19th century, art academies across Europe and America excluded women from their classrooms. Only a few of them count as...

Jimena Escoto 24 January 2024