Josh Friedman

Looking to the past as a means to move forward, fragmented recollections often initiate my dialogue with materials. The crack in my driveway. Cytoxan slowly dripping into my arm. Hair on my pillow. A burnt hole through paper. The overlooked. Insignificant.

Nature acts and we embed those actions with meaning. Residual accumulations of my small, repeated gestures that once gave thoughts form and recorded my journey of becoming cancer free, now give the fleeting commodity of time palpability.

Opening a door. Scratching my nose. An elevator ride. A sneeze. The overlooked cough. Insignificant rituals we took for granted are now deliberated over as monumental decisions of life and death. Small, simple, repeated gestures everywhere must be exercised with great care.

Working with fire and paper in my ritual practice, the thousands of individual residual marks draw as much attention to absence, as to what is present.

We have been awakened to see our interconnectedness, our hand in this moment. We are acutely aware of consequences our immediate, individual actions have as they accumulate and profoundly affect humanity.

Employing the simple gesture of burning holes through the surface of the picture plane challenges the physical integrity of the paper, and heightens the tension and awareness of the delicate edge between form and emptiness. Making the fragile more fragile, and evident, the accumulative impact small subtle incremental change may have on the whole.

Education

2002

Master of Fine Arts, Ceramics, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

1993

Bachelor of Arts, General Honors and Honors in Art, Goucher College, Towson, Maryland

1991

Certificate, La Sorbonne, Paris, France, Cours de Civilisation

Exhibitions

Solo

2005

“Groundwork”, Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa

2005

“New Works”, Kimmel Harding Nelson Art Center, Nebraska City, Nebraska

2003

“6000 miles”, West Liberty State College, West Liberty, West Virginia

2000

“New Works”, The Clay Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1999

“New Work/Site”, Spinning Plate Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1997

“Excavating Memory”, Galleria Rasen, Kunitachi, Japan

1992

“Layers Within”, Meyerhoff Arts Center, Towson, Maryland

Group

2020

Kamol Tassananchalee and Josh Friedman, Two-Man Show, LA ArtCore, Los Angeles, California

(postponded due to the pandemic)

2020

International Art Exchange Exhibition, Thai Life Permanent Exhibition Hall, Bangkok, Thailand

2020

Workshop Exhibition, University of Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Sawan, Thailand

2020

3rd Andaman International Art Workshop, Krabi Art Museum, Krabi, Thailand

2019

Italian Art Tour Exhibition, Palace of Culture, Vallo Della Lucania, Italy

2019

Artist Grand Tour, Permanent Installation Exhibition Art Hotel Gran Paradiso, Sorrento, Italy

2018

International Art Exchange Exhibition, Ratchadanoen Contemporary Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand

2018

2nd Andaman International Art Workshop, Krabi Art Museum, Krabi, Thailand

2018

International Art Exchange Show, Thaksin University, Songklha, Thailand

2018

KMUTNB International Art and Design Workshop Exhibition, Amphawa, Thailand

2014

“Culture Lab: Margin”, Multi-Disciplinary collaboration, Silverlake Independent 2014

Jewish Community Center, Los Angeles, California

2014

“Long Beach Summer III”, Stone Rose Gallery, Long Beach, California

2012-16

Siglo Moderno, Los Angeles

2012-20

MorYork Gallery, Los Angeles

2010

Group Exhibition, Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California

2010

“Earth” Juror: Sam Bower, 2nd City Council Art Gallery, Long Beach, California

2009

“Member’s Exhibition” Juror: Cheryl Bennett, 2nd City Council Art Gallery, Long Beach, California

2008

“Little Light” three-person exhibition, 98ten Fine Art, Irvine, California

2007

“Works on Paper” Juror: Jacqueline van Rhyn, Curator, Main Line Art Center, Pennsylvania

2005

Gallery MC, Manhattan, New York

2005

Gallery 51, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2005

“Top Drawer Exhibition” Curator: Lisa Dahl, The Matzo Files at PS122, Manhattan, New York

2005

“Grand Tour” Group exhibition, Gallery MC, Manhattan, New York

2005

“Accumulate” Two-person exhibition, Gallery MC, Manhattan, New York

2004

“Michigan Annual XXXII”, The Art Center, Mount Clemens, Michigan

2004

“19th Greater Midwest International Exhibition”, CMS University, Juror: Douglass Freed, Dir. of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri

2004

“Actual Size Biennial”, Detroit Contemporary Gallery, Detroit, Michigan

2003

“Gestures” co-curators: Michael Olijnyk and Graham Shearing, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2003

“Critical Mass” curator: Dr. Rochelle Martin, Museum of New Art, Detroit, Michigan

2003

“Society of Sculptors”, Juror: Frank Paluch, Dir. of Perimeter Gallery, Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2002

“Cranbrook Academy of Art Student Degree Show”,Cranbrook Museum of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

2002

“Kaboom”, Curator: Jeff Bourgeau, Museum of New Art, Detroit, Michigan

2002

“Michigan Fine Arts Competition”, Juror: Nick Cave, Artist, BBAC, Birmingham, Michigan

2002

“Faculty Exhibition”, University Gallery, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan

2002

“Seats 14”, Curators: Fabio Fernandez and David Addey, Forum Gallery,

Cranbrook Museum of Art traveled to Detroit Contemporary Gallery, Detroit, Michigan

2001

D’Arcy Company/Cranbrook Exchange, DMB&B Advertising, Troy, Michigan

2001

“Faculty Exhibition”, College of Architecture, Lawrence Tech University, Southfield, Michigan

2001

“Michigan Fine Arts Competition”, Juror: Brenda Goodman, Artist, BBAC, Birmingham, Michigan

2001

“The Wrong Show”, Curator: Jeff Bourgeau, Museum of New Art, Pontiac, Michigan

2001

“Seventh CAPPING Exhibition”, Iwasaki Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan

2000

“Sixth CAPPING Exhibition”, Shanghai Modern Art Museum, Shanghai, China

1999

“Fifth CAPPING Exhibition”, Sohyang Gallery, Pusan, Korea

1998

“Fourth CAPPING Exhibition”, Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan

1998

“Ginza Art Net”, Gallery 21 + Yo Annex, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

1997

“Rasen Selection 1997”, Galleria Rasen, Kunatachi, Japan

1993

“Thesis Exhibition”, Rosenberg Gallery, Goucher College, Towson, Maryland

Publications

Catalogue. 3rd Andaman International Art Workshop 2020, Krabi Art Museum, Krabi, Thailand

Catalogue. International Art Workshop 2020, Nakhon Sawan,Thailand

Catalogue. International Art Exchange Exhibition 2020,Thailand

Catalogue. Italian Art Tour, Vallo Della Luciano, Sorrento, Italy. 2019

Catalogue. 2nd Andaman International Art Workshop 2018, Krabi Art Museum, Krabi, Thailand

Catalogue. International Art Exchange Exhibition 2018, Ratchadanoen Contemporary Art Center, Thailand

Judge, CM. “Transnational Metaphors: Receptive Spaces in Public and Private Rituals.” Blaze: Discourse on Art, Women and Feminism Ed. Karen Frostig and Kathy A Halamka et all. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009. pages 273-74, 269.

“Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture News”, February 2003, volume 32, number 5, page 13.

“Four Shows Plus Novel Seating”, By Keri Guten Cohen, The Detroit Free Press, April 21, 2002.

“Pennsylvania Passages II”, by Gerry Williams, The Studio Potter, December 2000, volume 29,no.1, p 90.

“Galleries Offer Works to Ponder”, by Mary Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 13, 2000.

“Piece Work: It’s a Delicate Matter…”by Charles Rosenblum, Pittsburgh City Paper, July 26, 2000.

“Turning the Ordinary Into Art”, by Graham Shearing, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 7, 2000.

“Shining Spotlight on City’s Talent”, by Mary Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 9, 1999.

“Eastern Influences”, by Graham Shearing, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 1, 1999.

Selected Collections

Andaman Art Museum (Krabi, Thailand)

The Book Beat (Michigan)

Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (Nebraska)

Dagmar Frinta and Peter Lynch (New York)

Le Poisson Rouge (Japan)

Galeria Rasen (Japan)

Goucher College (Maryland)

King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (Samut Songkhram, Thailand)

Art Hotel Gran Paradiso (Sorrento, Italy)

Municipality of Vallo Della Lucania, Italy

Municipality of Nakhon Sawan, Thailand

Dr. Neil Romanoff (Los Angeles, California)

Reservoir Capital USA (Maryland)

Graham Shearing, art critic (Pennsylvania)

Mary Kim, Munich (Germany)

Binod Pradhan (Nepal)

Marek Ruff (Poland)

Dr. Kamol Tassanachalee (Thailand and Los Angeles, California)

Len Zuks (Perth, Australia)

Rishi Barua (India)

Intanon Chantip, (Thailand)

Carla Viparelli (Italy)

Subin Muangchan (Thailand)

Siraj Saxena (India)

Wattanachot Tungateja (Thailand)

Mayor of Nakhon Sawan, Thailand