Gregory Frux was born in
Brooklyn,
New York, on March 25, 1958. His father was an
engineer and later school teacher who emigrated from
Lvov, Poland in August 1939. His mother was grade school math teacher, who later taught adult literacy. It was through their teachings and examples that Frux developed his passion for art and native city. Gregory Frux married artist
Janet Ellen Morgan in 1990. Frux pursued art training at the
Brooklyn Museum Art School,
Art Students League and
National Academy of Design where he studied with
Harvey Dinnerstein while simultaneously earning a
Bachelor of Architecture and subsequent license as an
architect. From 1983 to 1989 Frux worked as an Architect for the
New York City Board of Education (BOE) designing school additions and modernizations. In order to pursue his passion for art in public schools, in 1989 Frux moved to the newly created Public Art for Public Schools unit of the BOE, which is responsible for protection of 1500 works of art owned The City of New York. As a curator Frux catalogued, protected and helped conserved this significant collection from 1989 to 2006. While working for the Board of Education, Frux completed his Master of Fine Arts from
Brooklyn College in 1986, studying with noted realist
Lennart Anderson. After coursework in
Carrara, Italy, in 1984 he became increasingly dedicated to outdoor painting. Frux worked most often in
Lower Manhattan; along the
East River; and in Brooklyn’s
Park Slope,
Coney Island, and
Gowanus Canal areas, painting on site in oils. Frux is deeply engaged with the layers of urban history seen in abandoned and repurposed buildings, industrial architecture, and the resurgence of nature along the harbor. His cityscapes have received recognition with exhibitions at
Brooklyn Borough Hall,
Brooklyn College, the Coney Island Museum,
Long Island University, the
Brooklyn Public Library's
Central Library, The Tabla Rasa Gallery and a commission by the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Frux is deeply interested in the wilderness both aesthetically and as mountaineer. His climbing career has dovetailed with creative work in increasingly remote locations. Frux has served as artist in residence in four national park units:
Weir Farm National Historic Site in
Wilton, Connecticut;
Glacier National Park;
Joshua Tree National Park;
Death Valley National Park, and Mount Washington Observatory. Frux was the first artist in residence at the
Mount Washington Observatory, White Mountains New Hampshire and held an exhibit there after his residency. He has painted in the
Rocky Mountains,
Andes,
Sierra Nevada, and
Mojave Desert, including ‘portraits’ of significant peaks such as Cerro Fitzroy, Sajama and Lotus Flower Tower. This work have been included in the permanent collection of the
National Park Service and exhibited by the
American Alpine Club. In December 2007 Frux traveled as artist in residence aboard the cruise ship Orlova to the
Antarctic Peninsula; his paintings of "Half Moon Bay, South Shetland Islands" have been published as a print. He worked as an artist aboard ship "Midnatsol" in Arctic Norway, November–December 2009. == Publications ==