Fred Nelson’s paintings find their influence in Buddhist philosophy and the criticism of Baudelaire, both favoring a non-mimetic approach to art making. The sensibilities, both aesthetically and philosophically, expressed in these different cultural approaches is an interpretive, personal response to the visual world. The subject of Nelson’s work is based on non-specific landscape, and the element of improvisation.

Nelson has been a practicing artist since 1975 when he had his first professional exhibit. He has actively shown his work since that time participating in museum exhibitions, solo exhibits and group exhibits. He has had professional gallery representation for 42 years. Nelson received an M.F.A. degree in 1975 from Washington University School of Fine Arts, St. Louis, attended the Kansas City Art Institute in 1972, and received a B.A. degree in 1971 from Webster College.

Nelson’s museum exhibitions include The Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City; The Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia; The City of Springfield Museum, Springfield MO.; The Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst, Mt. Vernon, Il, The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum and The Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Montgomery, Ala. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Painting and Drawing and a residency at the Cite International des Arts in Paris. Nelson has exhibited nationally and internationally. His work is included in over 170 private collections and in the permanent collection of over 50 corporate and public institutions including the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Washington University School of Medicine, Bank of America, US Bank, Champion International, Cincinnati Bell, The Fort Smith Art Museum, the Four Seasons Hotel, Abu Dhabi and R.R. Donnelly International. He is represented by Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art in Kansas City and The Atrium Gallery in St. Louis.