Garvey|Simon is pleased to present Frederick Brosen: Flowers and Facades, an exhibition that juxtaposes the luminous watercolors of New York City with delicate paintings from the artist’s new floral series. In this show, the flower paintings are being exhibited publicly for the first time. The exhibition opens on Thursday, February 15, with a reception from 6-8pm and closes on March 24th.

A virtuoso watercolorist, Frederick Brosen is a native New Yorker who has an intimate connection with his subjects. He is best known for capturing the history, elegance and grit of the urban landscape from hidden perspectives. Despite their big-city subjects, Brosen’s watercolors emanate a profound stillness, something he seeks out as he bicycles Manhattan at dawn.

Brosen’s keen process of observation and his distinct familiarity with these subjects allow him to capture and enhance subtle domestic and architectural details. Although the work can appear photorealist in reproduction, when observed closely his paintings are soft whispers of the city sans hustle and bustle; a private New York the artist is sharing with his audience.

Looking up from a sidewalk vantage point, the viewer is immersed in the architectural landscape with its geometric intersections of lines, curves and colors. The artist’s compositions rely much on his knack for editing these environments. He often removes elements that distract from what he wants to capture and adds imagined features to balance an image.

Nature, rarely glimpsed in Brosen’s cityscapes, is celebrated in his floral paintings. The artist began occasionally drawing and painting flowers over thirty years ago and increased his focus with each new work. While his paintings are specific, Brosen’s goal is not one of scientific accuracy, but instead a synthesis of movement and flow, of texture and luminosity.

Each painting in the new floral series contains a single species of flower in bloom against a background of crisp blue sky; the organic forms and soft textures complementing the geometric compositions of the cityscapes. Together, the flowers and facades highlight Frederick Brosen’s distinctive use of light and undisputed mastery of watercolor.