‘BOLD COLOR: Philip Frey, Rick Fox, Philip Koch’ at Courthouse Gallery

Ellsworth Courthouse Gallery Fine Art is pleased to present “BOLD COLOR” with Philip Frey, Rick Fox, Philip Koch from June 12 to July 7.

The gallery hosted a Zoom Talk on June 7 with the artists.

Philip Frey is, and always has been, a bold colorist. His study of light and its effect on pattern and color form the basis of his complex deconstruction of recognizable scenes, giving way to captivating compositions such as Fisherman’s Delight and Vanishing Point, both of which are in this show. In 2016, the University of Maine Museum of Art mounted a solo exhibition of Frey’s work. His work has been highlighted in several books, including Philip Frey: Here and Now by Daniel Kany and Carl Little; and Art of Acadia and Paintings of Portland both books by Carl Little and David Little; and in numerous publications. Frey studied at Columbus College of Art and Design and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Painting from Syracuse University in 1990. He was awarded the Heliker-LaHotan Foundation Residency in 2012. Frey lives in Sullivan year-round where he maintains a studio.

Rick Fox is known for the rugged energy and the colliding shapes of color in his plein air landscapes. Fox, who moved to Maine in 2013, compares the thrills and challenges of painting Maine’s tidal shifts and her ever-changing weather and light to riding an untamed beast. In 2019, Fox reconnected with his Irish roots when he was awarded the Ballinglen Painting Fellowship. His work is now in the permanent collection of the Ballinglen Museum of Art. Fox earned his BFA in studio art from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As an undergrad, he studied painting at Scuola Lorenzo de’ Medici, Florence, Italy. At the Massachusetts College of Art, where he earned his MFA, Fox had the good fortune to work with Marcia Llyod, George Nick, Jon Imber, Gregory Amenoff, and John Walker. These inspired masters have all been a lasting influence. Fox has been awarded many fellowships and residencies, is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant, and received a grant from the William James Association in partnership with NEA to design and implement a painting and drawing program for inmates in federal prison. Fox lives in Kittery, where he maintains a studio.

Philip Koch is widely known for his vividly colored paintings of the natural world. Maine became a favorite subject when he discovered the state’s rocky coast on his honeymoon three decades ago. Koch’s paintings have been the subject of 14 solo exhibitions at museums, and his work is held in the permanent collections of fifteen museums, including the Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio, the Swope Art Museum in Indiana, and the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New Yorl. Koch has enjoyed his fifteenth residency at Edward Hopper’s studio, and was named the 2015–2016 Artist in Residence at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, New York. Koch is the great grandson of John Wallace, the Scottish landscape painter, and the grandson of John Capstaff, the inventor of Kodachrome, the world’s first commercially available color film. Koch lives in Maryland, and is a senior professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Courthouse Gallery is at 6 Court St., Ellsworth. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday or by appointment. For more information, call 667-6611, or visit www.courthousegallery.com.