BIOGRAPHY - Warner Friedman (Born 1935) Born in Brooklyn in 1935, Warner Friedman came of age as an artist during the 1950s and early 1960s, an era in which American painting redefined itself as an international cultural leader. Growing up in the Bronx, Friedman's talent for drawing was recognized with an award when he was just thirteen years old; the prize was additional drawing lessons. In high school, he was introduced to drafting classes, and subsequently enrolled in the engineering program at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering in 1957, Friedman accepted a position in the technical engineering department at the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in New Jersey. His stay there was short-lived, however, as the company's government contracts gradually diminished after World War II, resulting in the plant's closure. Even while working as an engineer, Friedman continued to pursue his interest in the visual arts, registering for evening drawing courses at Pratt Institute taught by the respected illustrator Eugene Karlin (1918-2003). In September 1957, he was accepted into Cooper Union with a full scholarship, enabling him to study art full time for the next four years. To be close to school--and to the art scene of the time--Friedman moved to the lower East Side of Manhattan and also found a studio in the Bowery. Like many young painters at the time, he was fascinated with the work of the abstract expressionists who were living and working in the same neighborhood; and his paintings from those years reflect the influence of Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline. The Tenth Street coop galleries associated with this bohemian environment also provided Friedman with occasional opportunities to exhibit his work, and importantly, introduced him to the challenges of making a living as an artist. By 1962, Friedman had not only graduated from Cooper Union, but also married. To support his family, he worked in the conservation department at the Museum of Modern Art, courtesy of his friend, Thornton Rockwell, today a noted conservator. Friedman also continued to exhibit his paintings, which he describes as "concrete abstractionist", at the Tenth Street galleries. As he emerged from the abstract expressionism of his early work, Friedman began to develop his own aesthetic voice. His clean-edged geometric forms from the mid-1960s and 1970s reveal the artist's admiration of Piet Mondrian (1872-1944 ), as well as the contemporary concerns that Friedman shared with colleagues like Sol LeWitt and Donald Judd. The artist’s preference for crisp lines and precise geometry remain evident in his more recent work, in which architectural forms, art historical references and shaped canvases combine to create a distinctive expressive imagery. The 1960s also included two significant exhibitions for Friedman: Small Recent Paintings at the Fischbach Gallery in New York in 1965, and Labyrinth Paintings at the Wadsworth-Atheneum Museum in Hartford, Connecticut in 1969. The decade of the 1970s opened with a move to the Berkshires and new employment at the Wadsworth-Atheneum Museum, working again in conservation with Thornton Rockwell. Life outside of New York City brought many changes, including a growing family and an environment with more natural components. His paintings became larger and larger, always focused on basic geometric forms at 90-degree angles and completely flat surfaces. Illusions of reality were banned. During this decade, Friedman gradually began to exhibit his work at colleges and universities as well as participating in the Black, White and Grey exhibition at the Wadsworth-Atheneum. At the end of the 1970s, Friedman began using multiple colors in his painting, causing “horizon lines to creep into the painting" at the junction of the different colors. By 1981, light and shadow had crept in as well, and Friedman's pure geometry evolved into investigations of light, shadow and color. In 1988, in his Homage to Sol LeWitt, Friedman explored a strikingly new concept by creating fourteen, two-dimensional shaped canvases that referenced LeWitt’s three-dimensional series called Open Cubes. Friedman’s series was an immediate success, selling out quickly and attracting attention from an even larger audience of viewers. It was also during these years that he attracted attention from several corporations, thereby breaking into a new market for his large-scale works. Friedman's new direction in his professional life was echoed in his personal life in 1989 when he met his present wife, Janet Rickus, a still-life artist. By then, his work was receiving increasing attention in New York at the Schillay & Rehs gallery exhibition in 1991, and at museums such as the Museum of Art in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1993. In both cases, the works shown were large scale, imposing pieces featuring strong architectural elements combined with art historical references and sharply defined sunlight. Many of the paintings were as large as 8.5’ x 13’. Increasingly, Friedman utilizes both models and photographs as the foundation for his paintings. He comments that the use of photographs is particularly useful because it captures the quality of light at a specific time of day, which allows him to maintain the integrity of the canvas as he envisions it. The large scale of the work, combined with architectural elements such as doors, fences or bridges, gives viewers the sense that they are experiencing a glimpse of a world just beyond them--and invites them to consider what a direct encounter with that world might be. For example, in the painting A Bend in the River, 2003, Friedman juxtaposes a view of the natural world through a window with an interior space containing a sunlit Mondrian painting; considerations about the relationship between inside and outside, between nature and art are inherent in this image, encouraging the viewer to study and reflect on the questions it might pose. Janet Whitmore, Ph.D.
Solo Exhibitions 2010 Clark Gallery (Lincoln, MA) – Exhibition “Places in the Sun” 2010 Morrison Gallery (Kent, CT) – Exhibition of Recent Work 2008 New Arts Gallery (Litchfield, CT) – Exhibition of Recent Work 2007 Ferrin Gallery (Pittsfield, MA) -- Exhibition “Black White and Blue”
Paintings From the Eighties
2007 Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, MA) -- Exhibition of Monumental Paintings 1982-1985 2007 Scott Richards Contemporary Art (San Francisco, CA) --Exhibition of Recent Work 2004 Hadaad-Lascano Gallery, (Gt. Barrington, MA) --Exhibition of Recent Work 2003 Elaine Baker Gallery, (Boca Raton, FL)--Exhibition of Recent Work 2003 Boca Raton Museum of Art --Retrospective Exhibition: “Surroundings” 2002 Elaine Baker Gallery, (Boca Raton, FL)--Exhibition of Recent Work 2001 Ute Stebich Gallery, (Lenox, MA)—Recent Paintings 1999 Elaine Baker Gallery, (Boca Raton, FL)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1999 Ute Stebich Gallery, (Lenox, MA)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1998 Freites-Revilla Gallery, (Boca Raton, FL)--Recent Paintings 1996 Horwitch Newman Gallery, (Scottsdale, AZ)--Recent Paintings 1996 Carone Gallery, (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1994 Spazzi Fine Art, (Housatonic, MA)--Cut-Out Paintings of the Seventies 1994 Carone Gallery, (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1993 Museum of Art, (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)--“Warner Friedman Paintings: Ideal Visions” 1993 Five Points Gallery, (Chatham, N.Y.)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1992 Spazzi Fine Art, (Housatonic, MA)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1991 Schillay & Rehs Gallery, (N.Y.C.)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1991 Simons Rock College of Bard, (Gt. Barrington, MA)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1989 St. Peter’s Church, (N.Y.C.)--Paintings 1988 Central Connecticut State University, (New Britain, CT)-- Exhibition of Recent Work 1987 Bayless Gallery, (Norfolk, CT)--Exhibition of Recent Work--“Monuments” 1984 Freedman Gallery at Albright College--Painting Installation: “The South Shore” 1982 Jersey City College--Exhibition of Recent Work 1976 Winterhill Gallery, (Houston, TX)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1974 Simons Rock Early College, (Gt. Barrington, MA)--Exhibition of Recent Work 1972 University of Connecticut--Exhibition of Recent Work 1969 Wadsworth Atheneum, (Hartford, CT)--Exhibition of Eight “Labyrinth” Paintings 1965 Fischbach Gallery, (N.Y.C.)--Exhibition of Small Recent Paintings, Curated by Stephen Pepper 1965 A.M. Sachs Gallery, (N.Y.C.)--Exhibition of Recent Work Group Exhibitions
2011 The Morrison Gallery (Kent, CT) – “Group Exhibition 6” 2010 Ferrin Gallery, (Lenox, MA) – “Couples” 2009 The Morrison Gallery (Kent, CT) 2007 Ferrin Gallery, (Lenox, MA)--“We Are There” 2006 Scott Richards Contemporary Art (San Francisco, CA) 2005 Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield, MA)--“The Power of Place” 2005 Ferrin Gallery, (Lenox, MA)--“House of Wonder” 2005 Elaine Baker Gallery, (Boca Raton, FL)—“The New Realism”, Curated by L.K. Meisel 2004 New Arts Gallery (Litchfield, CT)--“Drawing Today” 2004 Armory Art Center, (Palm Beach, FL)--“Bakers Dozen” 2004 Ferrin Gallery, (Lenox, MA)—“Winter Light” 2003 New Arts Gallery (Litchfield, CT)--“Clear Vision” 2001 Hoorn-Ashby Gallery, (N.Y.C) --“The Discerning Eye” 2001 Louis K. Meisel Gallery, (N.Y.C) --“Near and Far, Perspective & Structure” 1999 Geoff Young Gallery, (Gt. Barrington, MA) 1999 The Albany Center Galleries, (Albany, N.Y.)--“Berkshire Artists” 1998 Cristinerose Gallery, (N.Y.C) 1998 Elaine Baker Gallery, (Boca Raton, FL) 1997 Krasdale Foods Inc. 1997 Westunberg Gallery, (Gt. Barrington, MA)--“The Alphabet of Trees” 1996 Robert Kidd Gallery, (Birmingham, MI) 1995 The Springfield Museum of Fine Art, (Springfield, MA)--“ The New Landscape” 1994 Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery, (Kent, CT)--“Viewpoints” 1993 Carone Gallery, (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 1992 Robert Kidd Gallery, (Birmingham, MI) 1992 Spazzi Fine Art, (Housatonic, MA)--”Cacophony” 1992 Five Points Gallery, (Chatham, N.Y.)--”Spirituality and Symbols of Eroticism” 1991 Schillay & Rehs Gallery, (N.Y.C.) 1990 Ted Gallery, (Albany, N.Y.)--”Aspects of Realism” 1989 Berkshire Artisans Gallery, (Pittsfield, MA) 1987 Leonarda Di Mauro Gallery, (N.Y.C.) 1985 Civilization, (N.Y.C.)--Benefit Exhibition of Small Works 1981 Berkshire Museum, (Pittsfield, MA)--First Annual Invitational Exhibit, Curated by Debra Balken 1978 Susan Caldwell Gallery, (N.Y.C.)--”Towards the Monochromatic”, Curated by Michael
2012 Massachusetts Cultural Council, Painting Award 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant 1996 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant 1993 Richard Florsheim Art Fund Grant 1990 Massachusetts Artist Fellowship
Selected articles and reviews 2011 Cynthia Nadelman, “Group Exhibition 6”, ARTnew 2010 Celia McGee, “Warner Friedman”, ARTnews 2010 Keith V. Shaw, “A Mix Of Marriages”, artscope 2010 Tracey O’Shaughnessy, “Fenced Out From Nature”, Sunday Republican 2010 Leon Graham, “A Quiet, Ominous World” 2008 Keith V. Shaw, “Small Gems”, The Berkshire Eagle 2007 Amy Norkus, “Black, White and Blue”, The Berkshire Eagle 2005 Geoffrey Young, “Recent Readings of the Housatonic”, from “Art and the River” 2005 Jennifer Ball, “Drawing Today”, Art News, January 2004 Heather Schreckengast, “Warner Friedman: Voyeur Of Nature”, Florida Design, Spring 2003 Dale M. King, “Surroundings”, The Sun-Sentinel, October 13 2003 Gary Schwan, “Warner Friedman”, Palm Beach Post, October 12
2003 Ken Willis, “Surroundings”, Citylink, September 17 1996 Gary Rausch, “Landscape Frame-up”, Scottsdale Tribune, July 11 1995 Gloria Russell, “The New Landscape” Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Sunday Republican, September 10 1995 Daniel M. Klein, “Berkshire Landscapes”, Berkshire Magazine, Spring 1994 Jude Schwendenwien, “Viewpoints” at Bachelier-Chardonsky, Art New England, October-November 19994 Charles Hagen, “In Connecticut”, New York Times, July 8 1994 Roger Hurlburt, “The Mathematics of Art”, The Sun-Sentinel, February 20 1993 Helen L. Kohen, “Warner Friedman Paintings: Ideal Visions”, Miami Herald, Sept. 26 1989 Eunice Agar, “Warner Friedman”, American Artist, January 1984 Tullio DeSantis, “Friedman at the Freedman”, The Reading Eagle, May 20 1981 Charles Boneti, “1981 Berkshire Museum Invitational”, Art New England, August
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Sold Works |  Warner Friedman (Born 1935) Eastern Light Acrylic on canvas 48 x 42 1/2 inches Signed and titled on the reverse |  Warner Friedman (Born 1935) Open Ended Cube VI (for Sol Lewitt) Acrylic on canvas 78 x 78 inches Signed and titled on the reverse |  Warner Friedman (Born 1935) Elevens Are Up (1990) Acrylic on canvas 84 x 84 inches Signed and titled on the reverse |
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