Unnatural Selection by Erik Fremstad
February 16 – April 7, 2024
Artist Reception: Friday, February 16, 5-7 pm
Lakewood, WA—Lakewold Gardens is pleased to present Unnatural Selection, an exhibition of the wildlife portrait series of the same name by artist Erik Fremstad. Opening Friday, February 16, the show includes all six large-scale paintings in the series, the first time they will be displayed together in one space. The exhibition will be on view to Lakewold Gardens visitors in the Wagner House through April 7, 2024 (included with garden admission).
Unnatural Selection comprises six paintings—a bison, wolf, grizzly bear, pollinators, sea turtle, and polar bear—created by Fremstad between 2018 and 2023. In each piece, Fremstad details the devastation to the North American species through a meticulous process. After months of research and note taking, he writes out the stories in detail, using words and drawings to form the outline of each animal, first in pencil and then in ink. Biological information, sketches of historical photos, maps and graphs provide a full perspective of the issues that threaten each species. Once the outline is complete, Fremstad finishes the artworks with watercolor paint.
“From a distance these paintings appear to be your regular old unsuspecting paintings of animals,” says Fremstad. “However, as the viewer is drawn in closer, they reveal in elaborate detail and imagery the human impact on wildlife and the natural world.”
Fremstad’s goal is to educate and inspire people to take action to help protect wildlife and the planet. “Each of these paintings tells the history of persecution of a species (or group of species) in North America,” says Fremstad. “Thirty million bison were slaughtered to create farms—many of which were not sustainable—and control Indigenous people. Two million wolves were killed letting prey populations explode, and grizzly bears were nearly eliminated from the lower 48 states entirely. Habitat loss, pesticides and climate change stress pollinators and threaten our food supply. All of these stories are unique to each animal, yet they are all intertwined to tell the cost to nature in the name of ‘progress.’”
“After six years of researching and creating these paintings, I’m so excited for the entire series to be on public display together for the first time at Lakewold Gardens!”
Accompanying the paintings will be a video documenting the full process of Fremstad creating the painting, each which takes between 8 and 12 months from research to completion.
A reception celebrating the artist and opening of the exhibition is scheduled for Friday, February 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Fremstad will also discuss the exhibition during the Winter Garden Poetry event on February 24 at Lakewold Gardens.
