Through Aug. 12: Alumnus Friel’s large-scale art on exhibit

By Adrian Aumen, College of Arts & Sciences

Standard-by-Friel,-1963PULLMAN, Wash. – Five large-scale paintings by Washington State University alumnus John Mathews Friel will be featured in an exhibit of the late artist’s work beginning Friday, July 15, in Fine Arts Gallery II.

Friel-at-an-exhibit-of-his-works-in-the-1960s
Friel at an exhibit of his works in the 1960s.

The show will be open to the public 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 12. An opening reception will be 2-4 p.m. July 15.

Friel (1938-1971), a Pullman native and graduate of Pullman High School, earned his bachelor of arts degree in fine arts at WSU in 1962. Following employment as a graphic designer in WSU’s publications office, he studied at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and lived as an artist in New York, Tokyo and Los Angeles.

His paintings appear in several collections in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago and have been featured in prominent business spaces, including the CBS Building in New York City.

Two of his paintings, “Torch” and “Inferno,” were exhibited in 2000 in the residence of ambassador John M. Yates in Yaounde, Cameroon, as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies Program: “From the Palouse and Beyond.”

“The large, bold, emblematic images Pullman native John Friel painted while he lived in New York, and (which) are now part of the collection of Washington State University, were the points of origin for this exhibition,” wrote Diane Tepfer, then curator of the Art in Embassies Program. “Friel’s very strong art and emotionally charged life are similar in many ways to that of other artists who left their homeland for an urban, cosmopolitan environment.”

“The Department of Fine Arts is so proud to have the opportunity to exhibit the work of one of WSU’s Fine Arts graduates who, in a few productive years, made such an impactful contribution to American painting,” said Lori Wiest, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and interim chair of fine arts. “His large-scale works are vibrant and dramatic in the use of bold geometric design.”

The five featured works include two from the college’s collection and three on loan from the Museum of Art/WSU.

Friel’s parents, John B. and Catherine Friel, established in their son’s memory the John Mathews Friel Memorial Artist Lecture Series at WSU in 1973. Administered through the Museum of Art, it has brought to campus noted American authorities on various aspects of art, including historians, critics, educators and working artists.

 

Contacts:
Lori Wiest, WSU Department of Fine Arts, 509-335-5647, lwiest@wsu.edu
Adrian Aumen, WSU College of Arts and Sciences communications, 509-335-5671, adriana@wsu.edu