SUNY Distinguished Professor Timothy Frerichs
SUNY Fredonia Department of Visual Arts and New Media Professor Timothy Frerichs has been promoted to the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor.
The rank, conferred by the SUNY Board of Trustees, is for “faculty having achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within the individual’s chosen field through significant contributions to the research and scholarship, or through artistic performance or achievement in the fine and performing arts.”
Professor Frerichs is an internationally recognized expert in printmaking, artist books, and paper arts. His innovative approach to creating works from natural materials reflects his commitment to environmental concerns and socially-relevant art. As a colleague noted, Frerichs “managed to place his locally originated art in an international context, creating an international exchange of ideas and artistic interaction.” His artist books and installations have been seen in exhibitions throughout the nation as well as in Lithuania, Turkey, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Italy.
His artworks are also part of the permanent collection of 14 museums around the world as well as six corporate collections.
Moreover, Frerichs is highly regarded for the craft behind his art, offering workshops and instruction in printmaking and papermaking in the U.S. and abroad. Frerichs has received over 20 honors and grants in recognition of his meaningful work. Most notable are two Fulbright scholarships, a Scandinavian American Fellowship, a Netherlands-American Cultural Grant, a U.S. Embassy Project Grant, and a Global Warming Grant from Arts Services Inc.
Most recently, he was the recipient of a New York State Artist Project grant for a project, “Waterways.” The resulting artwork was slated for installation at Chautauqua Institution and the Weeks Gallery at Jamestown Community College, including artist talks and workshops. In November 2023, he presented a solo exhibition of his work, “Timothy Frerichs, Artist Books and Works on Paper” at Anadulo University in Eskisehir, Turkey, which also included an artist lecture and artist book workshop. In December 2023, he participated in an Erasmus Faculty exchange with the Vilnius Academy of Arts in Lithuania, lecturing and presenting an artist book workshop, and received a second Erasmus Faculty exchange to be conducted before May 2026 at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, where he will also have a solo exhibition of his work at its gallery. He was also a juror for the 10th International Artist Book Triennial in Vilnius.
Frerichs is a recipient of the 2020 SUNY Chancellor’s Award of Excellence in Research and Creativity, the SUNY Fredonia President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015, and the 2013 William T. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award, endowed through the Fredonia College Foundation and presented by SUNY Fredonia. In 2017, Frerichs was named SUNY Fredonia’s Robert M. Kasling Memorial Lecturer, presenting the talk, “Sounding Lines.”
He earned his bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College, and M.S. and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. Frerichs has been a member of the faculty at SUNY Fredonia since 2006.
