Baker Overstreet's 'Follies' Exhibition at Fredericks & Freiser Features Glossy Geometric Paintings

Baker Overstreet presented thirteen paintings in his solo exhibition 'Follies' at Fredericks & Freiser from August 28 to October 4, 2008. Located at 536 W 24th Street in New York City, the works were all created in 2008 using acrylic and latex on dark backgrounds. These glossy, geometric abstractions reference architectural follies, black velvet painting, and 1970s black light posters. Titles like 'Sequined Cyclone Sequence' and 'The Continental Bathosphere' evoke nostalgia for Coney Island, pinball machines, and 1960s-70s culture. The paintings combine psychedelic maximalism with precise sign-painter techniques, creating dimensional objects that resemble disco floors or spaceships. Overstreet's approach balances decorative energy with formal severity, drawing comparisons to artists Alfred Jensen and Tal R. William Blake's phrase 'fearful symmetry' came to mind for the reviewer when observing the works' ruler-straight lines and mandala-like repetitions. The exhibition's title plays on both architectural ornamentation and Stephen Sondheim's 1971 musical, reflecting the paintings' theatrical self-awareness.