Emergence
Julius Friedman
January 2010 – August 2010
in the Atrium Hallway Gallery
Emergence is the most recent photographic work by Louisville-based artist
and graphic designer Julius Friedman. Perhaps best known for over thirty years of
graphic design and more abstract and landscape work, this series marks the artist's
first exploration of figurative photography.
Emergence is a harmonious blend of digital layering and nude portraiture
that suggest a non-representational reading of the photographic image. By incorporating
abstract designs, scenes from nature, hieroglyphics or tribal symbols, Friedman
is able to blur the lines of portraiture rendering his nude models almost unrecognizable.
What is recognizable becomes mysterious and allows the viewer to investigate each
piece's subtlety.
Aside from being a graphic designer, photographer and professional artist, Julius
Friedman has been the co-owner of Chapman Friedman Gallery, Louisville for over
30 years. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, in addition to a solo show at the National
Museum of Poster Art, Poland. A recent publication of Images and Ideas: Julius Friedman
(2008, Butler Books) is available at the 21c Museum Shop.
Artist Statement
In these photographs the human figure is encased in several layers of surface and
pattern. The image of the figure is so married into the other layers that it almost
seems to emerge or materialize from them, creating sometimes, mysterious or ghostlike
imagery. I am very interested in the creation of surface as much as the image itself.
And because the photographs are printed on raw aluminum, a highly reflective surface,
yet another layer is created by the viewer as he/she provides another image with
their own reflection. More questions arise; is the viewer a participant or is the
viewer a voyeur in these intimate portraits.
Some will look at my work and come up with ideas and opinions which will have nothing
to do with my own interpretation - that is really my intent with all my work. It
is important for the viewer to bring their own experiences and associations and
create their own story. It is not what one looks at, it is what one sees.
-Julius Friedman, 2009
Currently Showing
Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War
Kara Walker
in Gallery 2, off the Atrium
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exhibition details
Faces of Fooshegu
Lindsay Cameron
November 2009
in Gallery 1, off the Atrium
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exhibition details
Emergence
Julius Friedman
January - August 2010
in the Atrium Hallway Gallery
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exhibition details
Wheel of Fortune
Anne Peabody
June - October 2010
in the Atrium Gallery
Exhibited in conjunction with the
2010 GAS (Glass Art Society) Conference
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exhibition details
Simen Johan: Until the Kingdom Comes
July 2 - October 4, 2010
in the Street Level Gallery
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exhibition details
New Acquisitions and Highlights
August 6, 2010 - January 15, 2012
Atrium Gallery
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exhibition details