‘untitled (sun)’, 2012 wood, styrofoam and paint approximately 3,650 12-inch wooden dowels, painted yellow, were stuck and glued into a 12-inch styrofoam ball, at varying angles 32 x 32 x 32 inches

tom friedman: new work luhring augustine, new york, USA on now until march 17th, 2012

american artist tom friedman has created a show of sculpted objects entitled ‘new work’ on exhibition at luhring augustine. the complexity and intricacy of the artist’s construction of the series helps to foster a sense of unreality observed in the collection, as each form seems to have been fabricated by either hand or mass-production due to the precision of each work. ‘new york’ includes objects which cheekily portray modern technology such as ‘untitled (video camera)’, a life-sized video camera formed from wood and paint; or ‘untitled (lily pads)’, a hand-formed collage which mirrors the effect viewing a flat screen has upon one’s eyes. the installation is a hand-crafted collection of pieces as friedman distills digital objects into analogue forms.

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work ‘untitled (nobody)’, 2012 by tom friedman styrofoam and paint 13 x 16 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york

the still-life, self-portrait piece ‘untitled (nobody)’ has been created as the lower portion of the artist’s calf and feet, sporting running shoes and scrunched-down tube socks. while the exactness of friedman’s formation of the sculptural component of the piece is self-reflective, it is the starkness of the white wall behind the piece, indicating the absence of the artist, which resonates with the viewer.

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work ‘untitled (peeing figure)’, 2012 by tom friedman stainless steel edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs man: 96 x 30 x 27 inches urine stream: 56 x 10 x 1/2 inches courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work detailed views of ‘untitled (peeing figure)’, 2012 by tom friedman stainless steel edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs man: 96 x 30 x 27 inches urine stream: 56 x 10 x 1/2 inches courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work ‘untitled (apples)’, 2012 by tom friedman styrofoam and paint dimensions variable courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york

the piece, ‘untitled (apples)’ may be interpreted as a visualization of the challenging relationship between artist and creation of art.  within the gallery space, friedman has actualized this concept in the form of once-bitten styrofoam apples standing as several ideas lacking in completion.

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work ‘untitled (kite)’, 2012 by tom friedman wood, paint and monofilament diameter of base: 41 1/2 inches figure: 1 1/8 x 3/8 inches string: dimension varies courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work detail of ‘untitled (kite)’, 2012 by tom friedman wood, paint and monofilament diameter of base: 41 1/2 inches figure: 1 1/8 x 3/8 inches string: dimension varies courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work ‘untitled (video camera)’, 2012 by tom friedman wood and paint 63 1/2 x 44 1/2 x 44 1/2 inches courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york

tom friedman at luhring augustine, new work ‘untitled (lily pads)’, 2012 by tom friedman collage 41 3/4 x 71 inches courtesy of the artist and luhring augustine, new york