Testimonials
The Art of Gwendolyn Fryer
The adjectives "exotic", "mysterious: and "tender" describe the constructions of artist Gwendolyn Fryer, an American who grew up in Libya, Ms. Fryer creates delicate multimedia collages, bold painted canvases, and sculpture comprised of found architectural elements and industrial salvage.
All her pieces are rich with references to Islamic ornament. Shapes and patterns from traditional North African and Middle Eastern jewelry, woodwork and ceramic are juxtaposed with musical notations or Xray film and Arabic newsprint.
Behind the billowy smoke and current turmoil in the Islamic world are societies whose artistic vocabularies have been articulated for centuries Ms. Fryer taps those and invites us into the realms that trancend politics, places where we need no translator.
Ms. Fryer's work has been widely exhibited; two pieces from her aptly titled " Freedom Series" have been on tour in the Sultanate of Oman and Algeria.