Liz Fiedorek

Artist Liz Fiedorek studied Animal Science/Pre-Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech as an undergraduate at a time when art classes were open to all. She took full advantage of those opportunities and, with an Art Minor added to her credentials, ultimately made a career in the art world. Among the artists whose work she represented in New York galleries were Mark Rothko, Richard Diebenkorn, and Adolph Gottlieb. When, many years later, Fiedorek began creating and exhibiting her own photography, those images resonated with her, and these formative experiences are reflected in her current work. Looking at Fiedorek’s Red Sun (2018), for example, Gottlieb’s canvases come immediately to mind.

In the truest sense of the word, abstraction refers to the essence of something larger and more concrete. The artist explains: “Nature is the driving force of my inspiration. I am awed by the purity, mutability and power of the natural world. I try to express this in my photographs. To me the natural world is composed of visual abstractions. My larger pieces often are compared to Abstract paintings. Of late, they are influenced by Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting and Minimalism.”

Kevin Concannon, 2019 Guest Curator/Director School of Visual Arts