j
FRIEDMANN
jfriedmannart | Modern large format mixed media abstract painting for residential and commercial spaces. Pigmented prints and SEG formats.
For representation, commissions, pricing and sales outside the United States please refer to my contact page.
We put the world together and watch it fall apart.
I'm intrigued by the interplay of chaos and order. Random marks and elements appear to suggest chaos and disarray but my work process is very deliberate. There is an underlying structure. I'm interested in finding a balance between these two opposites.
Even though I’m aware of composition and color, I always push myself towards an undefined end. I start driving but I don’t know where I’m going to be sleeping at the end of the day. I do better without an itinerary. Hopefully, when I wake up and I see things in the morning light, I’ll like the view.
Much of the inspiration for these works comes from observations of how street signage and graphics deteriorate when left to the elements over months and years of neglect. What was once coherent slowly disintegrates. As order breaks down things become engaging in a different way. The perfection of newness becomes the perfection of entropy. This work mimics that process. Starting with ordered elements I disassemble, dissect and rearrange searching for a hidden balance and harmony while honoring the mystery of a nonlinear process.
Organic Technology:
The computer is a very sophisticated machine but all machines are tools and we can use any tool mechanically or intuitively as far as process is concerned. Instead of imposing a solution on a “problem” I look for a solution to present itself.
On first impression, some of these images may appear to be traditional paintings but that's not the case. These are mixed media images combining photography, painting, found objects and CGI. In the digital realm, I don’t mimic paint but I am instead interested in methods and techniques that flow directly from digital tools and process. When seen at full scale, the work reveals detail that can’t be replicated with traditional methods.
I employ a hybrid process. The first step is a digital collage that incorporates all variety of elements. After much experimentation and iterations, I arrive at a finished full scale image. At that point, the image leaves the computer to be translated to a pigmented print or an SEG. I may paint directly on the print using a combination of reflective metallic paints and a variety of finishes or I can combine several prints.
BIOGRAPHY:
I was first inspired by the work of LeRoy Neiman and, at 11, I copied one of his paintings. It was a painting of sailboats. As soon as I saw the work of Pollock, Kandinsky, Mondrian and Stella I realized I shared a deep kinship with these artists, and I lost interest in Neiman. After I sailed across the Atlantic in a small boat I also decided sailboats were not for me either.
I experimented with abstract expressionism and also studied Ceramics with Jim Romberg at The Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities in Sun Valley Idaho and with Sculptor Jan Van Leeuwen in the Netherlands.
After several years of travel, I entered I entered the Illustration program at the Academy of Art in San Francisco In 1976. I eventually transferred to The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where I attained a Bachelor’s Degree in Illustration in 1980.
As a pioneer in the Video game industry, I spent most my time at Electronic Arts in Silicon Valley and at The Walt Disney Company.
I was born in Brooklyn, New York, but I consider Californias my home. I currently reside in Los Angeles.