david fried
Selection Gallery, Museum and Art fairs
DAVID FRIED, 1962 USA
Born in New York City. (Scroll Down for Biography)
1989 Moved studio to Germany, currently living and working in Düsseldorf and NYC
Solo Exhibitions (selected)
2016 Photoweek Duesseldorf, Troner Art Duesseldorf, Germany
2015 Pivotal Approach, Deutsche Bank, Königsallee, Duesseldorf, Germany
2013 Spheres of Influence II, SPAM Contemporary, Duesseldorf; Germany
2012 Troner Art, Stilwerk Duesseldorf, Germany
2009 Position Probable, Dominik Mersch Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Spheres of Influence, Gallery Samuelis Baumgarte, Bielefeld, Germany
2008 Ultimate Photography, Gallery Monos, Liège, Belgium
2007 Far from Equilibrium, Sara Tecchia Roma New York, New York, USA
Living Variables, Galerie Kasten, Mannheim, Germany
Neorder, Galerie Noack, Mönchengladbach, Germany
2005 Fundación Municipal de Cultura 'José Luis Cano', Algeciras, Spain
Distibution of Fate, Regional Museum Xanten, Germany
2004 Gallery Brenner, Düsseldorf, Germany
2003 Missing Link, Gallery Adler, Frankfurt, Germany
2002 Self Organizing Still-Life, Gallery Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
Baker & McKenzie, Frank O. Gehry building, Düsseldorf.
2001 Recent Works, Gallery Hohmann/Levy, Hamburg
Night of the Museums, Jörg Immendorff’s penthouse, Düsseldorf, Germany
1999 Gallery Kudlek, Cologne, Germany
1998 Martin Kudlek Fine Art, Cologne, Germany
Group Gallery & Museum Exhibitions (selected)
2017 In/Out - The Universe, Weltkunstzimmer, HPZ Foundation, Duesseldorf
Die Grosse Kunst Austellung NRW, Museum Kunstpalast, Duesseldorf
2016 Das Runde muss ins Eckige,Collection Marli Hoppe-Ritter, Museum Ritter, Germany
2015 Rossini Art Site, Pietro Rossini Foundation, Brianza, Italy
Die Grosse NRW, Museum Kunstpalast, Duesseldorf, Germany
Visions Of Sensory Space, Galerie Voss, Duesseldorf, Germany
2014 Ostrale 014, Centre for Contemporary Art, Dresden, Germany
Die Grosse NRW, Museum Kunstpalast, Duesseldorf, Germany
2013 Licht.Kunst:Kinetik, Kunst Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, Germany
Grosse Kunst Austellung NRW, Museum Kunst Palast, Duesseldorf, Germany
2011 Google Science, Google HQ, Palo Alto, CA
Wasser, Kunsthalle Messmer, Germany
2010 Agenda, Dominik Mersch Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Schaulager, Peter Zimmer Foundation, Duesseldorf, Germany
2009 Fall Forward, Sara Tecchia Roma New York, New York
Uber's Sofa II, Tröner Art, Duesseldorf, Germany
Gallery KAFL, Dubai
2008 Bildertausch 3 - Collection Marli Hoppe-Ritter, Museum Ritter, Germany
2007 Genesis - The Art of Creation, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland
Sculpture in Motion - Atlanta Botanical Garden, USA
Galerie Kasten, Mannheim, Germany
Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, Germany
2006 Bewegung im Quadrat, Commission for Permanent Collection, Museum Ritter, Germany
A Summer Show, Sara Tecchia Roma New York, New York, USA
Galerie Kasten, Mannheim, Germany
Plastic Fantastic, The Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, NJ, USA
Joint Venture, Richard Nelson & Pence Gallery, University of CA. at Davis, USA
2005 Himmelsbilder, Dommuseum Salzburg, Austria
2004 Skywatch, K26, Frankfurt, Germany
Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany
2003 Kunst in Bewegung, traveling exhibition: Kunst Museum Ahlen, Germany
2002 Kunst in Bewegung, Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, Germany
Kunst in Bewegung, Kunst Museum Heidenheim, Germany
Kunst in Bewegung, Kunst Museum im Kulterspeicher Würzburg, Germany
Gleicher Ort Neue Zeit, Düsseldorf, Germany
2001 Illusions in Space, Sculpturesite Gallery, Berkeley, USA.
2000 Kunst Museum Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Permanent collection & display
1998 New York Artists, Martin Kudlek Fine Art, Cologne, Germany
1997 Martin Kudlek Fine Art, Aachen, Germany
1993 Amerika Haus, Cologne, Germany
1992 Das Bild im Bild, Articom, Frankfurt, Germany
Visionäre Schweiz, Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany
ID Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
1991 ID Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
1987 The B.A.D.Gallery, NYC, USA
1985 The B.A.D.Gallery, NYC, USA
1984 Gallery 51X, NYC, USA
1983 AVANT, Gabrielle Bryers Gallery, NYC, USA
LowerEastSide Street Art, GuGu Ernesto Gallery, Cologne, Germany
LowerEastSide Street Art, Galleria Lo Zebbetto, Milano, Italy
The Slow Art Show, Underground, NYC, USA
AVANT - Guerilla Art, Gallery 51X, NYC, USA
AVANT and Friends, N.Y.U. Contemporary Art Gallery, NYC, USA
Terminal New York, Brooklyn Army Terminal, NYC, USA
1982 51Xressionism, Gallery 51X, NYC, USA
Stolen Show, curated and exhibited, Alain Bilhaud Gallery, NYC, USA
The Monument Redefined, Gowanus Memorial Art Yard, NYC, USA
1981 AVANT, Alain Bilhaud Gallery, NYC, USA
The Monumental Show, Gowanus Memorial Art Yard, NYC, USA
Art Fairs
2011 Art Stage Singapore, Dominik Mersch Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2010 Melbourne Art Fair, Dominik Mersch Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2009 Scope New York: Sara Tecchia Roma New York, NYC, USA
Aqua Wynwood Miami: Sara Tecchia Roma New York, NYC, USA
2008 Art Cologne: Gallery Sara Tecchia Roma New York
Scope New York: Gallery Sara Tecchia Roma New York
2007 Art.Fair Cologne: Galerie Friedrich Kasten, Mannheim, Germany
Köln-Liste: Sara Tecchia Roma New York
Köln-Liste: Galerie Noack/Hybrid, MG, Germany
2006 Art Rotterdam: Galerie Adler & Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
Scope New York: Galerie Adler & Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
2004 Art Frankfurt: Galerie Adler & Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
Berliner-Liste: Galerie Adler & Galerie Poller, Frankfurt,Germany
Fiac Paris: Galerie Adler & Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
2003 KunstKoln: Galerie Adler, Frankfurt, Germany
Scope London: Galerie Adler, Frankfurt, Germany
Art-Fair Cologne: Galerie Adler, Frankfurt, Germany
KunstKoln: Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
Art Frankfurt: Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
Photo-London: Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
Photo New York - Metropolitan Pavilion: Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
PalmBeach3: Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
Art Expo Düsseldorf: Galerie Poller, Frankfurt, Germany
2002 Art Frankfurt: Galerie Christian Hohmann Hamburg, Germany
2001 Kunst-Köln: Galerie Martin Kudlek Cologne, Germany
Art Brüssels: Galerie Martin Kudlek Cologne, Germany
Art Frankfurt: Galerie Martin Kudlek Cologne
Art Frankfurt: Galerie Christian Hohmann, Hamburg, Germany
2000 KunstKöln: Galerie Martin Kudlek Cologne, Germany
1999 Art Forum Berlin: Gallery De Chiara/Stewart New York, NY
1996 Art Multiple Düsseldorf: Alexander Fils Galerie, Duesseldorf, Germany
1992 Art Basel: Galerie Hans Mayer, Düsseldorf, Germany
Reviews / Press (selected)
1980-1984 aka “AVANT”: See Wikipedia and AVANT websites for more information:
Arts Speak, Art World, Arts Magazine, Cosmopolitan (Japan ed.), East Village Eye, L‘Express, Flash Art, Modo, The Villager,
New York Magazine, The Village Voice, The New York Times.
• TV Berlin, news hour culture section. broadcast coverage of “Art Berlin”, 2001.
• WDR Kulturszene, TV culture broadcast coverage of “Kunst Köln”, 2001.
• Sandra Balvín, Sur (newspaper) 29.10.2005, “Un mundo por descubrir”, pp. 12.
• José Luis Tobalina, EuropaSur (newspaper) 29.10.2005, “La imagen fotográfica como filosofía”, pp. Cover, 64.
• Magdalena Kröner, Rheinescher Post, (newspaper) „Blubbern voller Bedueutung“, 28.12.2001.
• Sigrid Blomen-Radermacher, Rheinescher Post, (newspaper) „Kunst nach Stammzellen-Art“, 08.05.2007.
• Annette Wollenhaupt, Frankfurter Rundschau, (newspaper) „Von Begegnungen und fragilen Verbindungen“, 08.08.2002.
• World of Art Magazine, Issue 6, Vol.3, 2003.
• 100 Contemporay Artists, 2003 (hardcocer: pp.22, 23)
• Christopher Hart Chambers, NYarts magazine (International ed.) Spring 2004, “Spring Picks”
• Manheimer Morgen, (newspaper) „Kultur“, 09.18.2006, pp.31.
• “In to the Nature” ISBN-13: 978-3-89955-099-3 (Softcover 2007: pp.192-195) Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin.
• Manheimer Morgen, (newspaper) 05.12.2007. „Vom Wesen des Zufalls“ review of exhibition at Projektraum4 / Galerie Kasten. pp.27.
• Barbara Foester, Manheimer Morgen, (newspaper) „Weniger ist eben oft viel mehr “, 09.11.2007, pp.31.
• Eva Mayer, Meier Magazine – Heidelberg/Manheim, 11.2007 (interview) „Kontrol und Chaos“ pp.86.
• Christopher Hart Chambers, dART magazine, Vol 9 - No.2, 2006. “Confined Chaos – Life according to David Fried“. pp. 25-27.
• Trent Morse, Saatchi Online , 10.18.2007 “David Fried at Sara Tecchia Gallery, New York”. Link
• Kirsten & Lukas Feireiss (2008) “Architecture of Change - Sustainability and Humanity in the Built Environment” (ISBN:978-3-89955-211-9) Inside front and back covers (Hardcover pp.00,01,311,312) Die Gestalten Verlag, Berlin.
• Vernissage-TV, September 2007. review of solo exhibition: “Far from Equilibrium” at Sara Tecchia Gallery New York. Link
• Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern. “Genesis- the Art of Creation” (Softcover 2007: pp. 50, 51, 54, 55, cover.)
• "Scuplture in Motion", PBA / Public Broadcasting Atlanta, Program & Interview aired July 2008.
• Museum Ritter "Hommage an das Quadrat" Collection Marli Hoppe-Ritter (Hardcover 2009: pp.111,112.)
• ArtReview: Link
• "Fatal Numbers: Why count on Chance" by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (2010: pp.1,6,1036,50,52, front & backcover) Westside Philosophers, Inc.
Translated from original German "Fortuna und Kalkül" edition Unseld.
• ArtInvestor Magazine, No.06/12, pp.69,70. "Dynamische Kunstobjekte" Dominique Dabrowski.
• Rheinische Post, WOCHENENDE 7./8. MÄRZ 2015, Duesseldorfer Kultur Magazin C3. Die Grosse kunstausstellung 2015 "Marktplatz im Museum" von Annette Bosetti.
• Rheinische Post, Duesseldorfer Kultur Magazin C3, 14.Mai 2015. "Reise in die Unendlichkeit" von Noatascha Plakermann.
• Wall Street International, Visions Of Sensory Space, http://wsimag.com/de/kunst/15633-visions-of-sensory-space
• Tim Otto Roth, "Körper. Projection. Bild. Eine Kulturgeschichte der Schattenbilder", Hardcover, pp.404, 2015 Wilhelm Fink Verlag, ISBN: 978-3-7705-5958-9
• WDR 1, Kultur, "Das All im Weltkunstzimmer" Thomas Köster. 1. February 2017.
• Rheinischer Post, Schnäppchenmarkt der Kunst, Birgit Kölgen, 17, February 2017.
• Monograph "David Fried - Far From Equilibrium" Essays by Dr.Sabine Maria Schmidt, Dr. Tim Otto Roth, Carl Friedrich Schröer, 216 pages,,
2018 KERBER Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7356-0452-1
Commissions (selected)
Pietro Rossini Foundation, Briosco, Italy
Kunst Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, Germany
Persona Service HQ, Ludenscheid, Germany
Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation, Duesseldorf, Germany
Vodafone HQ, Duesseldorf, Germany
Westside Philosophers Inc, New York City, USA
Baker & Mckenzie, Duesseldorf, Germany
Public and Private Collections (selected)
Stadt Kunst Museum Gelsenkirchen, Germany
VolksBank HQ, Mönchengladbach, Germany
Kunst Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, Germany
Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation, Germany
Jones Day, Germany
Persona-Service, HQ, Ludenscheid, Germany
Andreas Gefeller, Germany
Biff Ruttenberg Foundation, USA
Sara Tecchia, USA
Stephen Colbert, USA
Gabrielle Bryers, USA
Michele Chevallier Pesner, USA
Elliott Aintabi, USA
Isabella Del Frate Rayburn, Italy
Lutz Dresden, Germany
Fondazione Pietro Rossini, Italy
Andreas Gefeller, Germany
Antony Gormley, UK
Biography
Born and raised in New York City, the artist David Fried found his calling early on. He was accepted as the first minor ever into the adult classes at the Art Students League where he had his first chance to expand his artistic horizons. Between the age of 8 and 13, beyond mastering traditional and established contemporary styles, he painted in oil with a visionary style of his own that earned him numerous awards and public solo exhibitions as a youngster. Soon after his early departure from the academic world, he co-founded the artist‘s consortium known as ‘Avant’, which along with Haring and Basquiat, were major contributors to the emerging New York street-art scene. His notorious illegal public paintings led to inclusions in dozens of gallery exhibitions in soho and the east village throughout the early to mid 80‘s.
Fried‘s fascination with specifically human relationships present in his early figurative paintings led to deeper insights into complex relationships in general, which soon crystallized as the conceptual core for all his forthcoming artistic endeavors. His hands-on research led to a panache of traditional, state of the art and invented techniques. He simultaneously pursued his art and studied philosophy, primitive mythology, life sciences and aspects of technology and mass media in our cultures.
In 1989, shortly before the Berlin wall came down, Fried moved his studio to Germany where he sought Europe‘s entwined cultural distinctions and social dialogue to inspire and explore his increasingly scientific and philosophic brand of art. There his work developed from painting and photography into his own morphology of techniques and processes such as ‘light sensitive paint’, ‘interactive granite’ and sculpture, to depict and fabricate his conceptual explorations. Since then his artwork has followed several distinct avenues that are disparate in actualization yet united in sensibility.
His international art career began in earnest several years after relocating to Europe with his first major solo exhibition in Cologne, Germany. Soon after he was invited to use Immendorff‘s event space for an exhibition and performance for the ‘Night of the Museums’ in Düsseldorf. Fried has mounted several solo exhibitions in galleries, institutions and museums across Europe and has exhibited on 4 continents. His work can be found in the permanent collections of Volksbank HQ, Mönchengladbach, Germany, Kunst Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, and in Gemany‘s most extensive kinetic art collection at the Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen. Additionally, he has been shown alongside that of Rebecca Horn, Rauschenberg and Calder in the traveling exhibition ‘Drehen, Kreisen, Rotieren’, and he was also featured in ‘Genesis—The Art of Creation’, alongside Antony Gormley, Bruce Nauman, LeWitt and others at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland. In September 2007 he returned to NYC with a solo debut at Gallery Sara Tecchia in Chelsea New York.
David Fried currently lives in Germany and works in Düsseldorf and in New York City.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Fried
2013, Duesseldorf
1962 Born in New York City, USA
1972 Painting Studies Art Students League, NYC
1974 First major solo exhibition Rockefeller Plaza, NYC
1976 Art studies at HS Music & Art, NYC
1980 Studio in NYC. Cofounder street art pioneers AVANT
1980 to 1984, 40 painting exhibitions in SoHo and East Village, NYC
1984 Painting and Photography fusions
1986 Consultant and manager for Duggal photo lab, NYC
1989 Moved studio to Dusseldorf, Germany
1990 "Light Paintings" using self made light-sensitive pigments
1995 Research for Interactive "Self Organizing Still-Life" (SOS) sculpture begins
1998 First "SOS" scultpure work premieres at art fair Art Berlin
1999 "In bed with Lucy and Dolly" works begin - large format color photograms
2003 "Rainscape" large-format color photography series begins
2004 "Stemmer" sculptures begins
2007 "Way of Words" motiongram photography begins
2009 "Globalexandria" stainless steel sculptures begins
2012 Research for interactive, generative, touch-screen media sculptures begins
2016 "Systemmers" and "Translibrium sculptures begins
2017 "Continuum" sculptures begins
Monograph 2018
David Fried - Far From Equilibrium
216 pages / English/Deutsch,
KERBER Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7356-0452-1
Order Kerber online:
Selected Works (2000-)
The multidisciplinary artist David Fried (1962, NYC) explores the qualities of invisible complex dynamic relationships in the form of minimalistic images and objects. The inherent flexible characteristics of interdependent networked systems operating far-from-equilibrium found in nature and social endeavor, are echoed throughout his sculptural, photographic and interactive works. The artist employs highly symbolic motifs that are universally recognizable as organic or pertaining to natural phenomena with chaotic tendencies, contextually infused with hints of human influence and our urge to control, manipulate and predict outcomes.
In a human world that is increasingly aware of and witness to the influence of self-organizing systems, Fried explores the space between the lingering anachronism of the Newtonian world view and the vandgarde of progressive systems thinking on diverse themes such as communication, sociology, ecology and biology. His essential inspirations value unpredictability, emergent complexity and influence over the illusion of true control.
Adding to the lucid sense of harmony and sensual aesthetic found in his compositions, Fried draws eclectic references from mythological and scientific realms, which are universally present in our societies and consensus. Much like the ancient’s archetypical signs, he condenses complex contemporary issues into enigmatic symbols that mark pivotal changes in individual psyches, whereby fact and fiction become one.
His recent works, consisting of modernized fertility icons, photographs of celestial forces, photograms of cellular membranes, networks and interactive stone sculptures, are fabricated using traditional techniques combined with high-tech processes in a variety of mediums. He synchronizes diverse artistic and scientific disciplines to create contemporary icons that reflect our growing knowledge base in the techno-information era, while emphasizing the affects technology itself has on our personal choices and belief systems.
Fried‘s personal catalytic mix of critique and philosophy, his respect for the unpredictable and non-linear networks, dialogue, art and the sublime, form the core of his various unique projects. Processing these factors into an artistic unity, the artist fuses minimalism and conceptual art with aesthetics and philosophy to create works that aim to transcend diverse cultural boundaries. In his comprehensive work, Fried suggests that the mythological and the scientific involve inextricable systems of belief that must remain in constant dialogue, as art follows life and life follows art.
Arbeiten (2000-)
Der interdisziplinär arbeitende Künstler David Fried (1962, NYC) erforscht in seinen minimalistischen Bildern und Objekten die Eigenschaften unsichtbarer, komplexer, dynamischer Beziehungen. Die innere Flexibilität wechselseitig vernetzter und alles andere als ausgewogen operierender Systeme, wie sie in Natur und sozialen Beziehungen vorkommen, durchzieht sein gesamtes skulpturales, fotografisches und interaktives Werk. Der Künstler verwendet symbolstarke Motive, die universell als organisch und als bezogen auf Naturphänomene mit chaotischen Tendenzen lesbar sind, kontextuell ergänzt durch Anspielungen auf menschliche Einflussnahme und unseren Drang, Resultate zu kontrollieren, zu manipulieren und vorherzusagen.
In einer menschlichen Welt, die sich des Einflusses selbstorganisierender Systeme heute zunehmend bewusst wird, erforscht Fried den Raum zwischen noch immer verbreiteten Anachronismen einer Newton’schen Weltsicht und der Avantgarde eines fortschrittlichen Systemdenkens, wobei er so unterschiedliche Themenfelder wie Kommunikation, Soziologie, Ökologie und Biologie einbezieht. Seine grundlegenden Ideen würdigen Unvorhersehbarkeit und Zunahme von Komplexität und Einfluss gegenüber der Illusion von echter Kontrolle.
Neben dem klaren Gefühl für Harmonie und sinnliche Ästhetik, das seine Kompositionen kennzeichnet, stellt Fried vielfältige Bezüge zu mythologischen und wissenschaftlichen Themengebieten her, die in der individuellen Psyche universell präsent sind. Ähnlich wie bei Archetypen des Altertums verdichtet er komplexe, heute wichtige Themen zu enigmatischen Symbolen, die entscheidende Veränderungen unserer Gesellschaften und Übereinkünfte markieren, wodurch Fakt und Fiktion eins werden.
Seine neueren Arbeiten, die von modernisierten Fertilitätssymbolen über Fotos von himmlischen Mächten, Fotogrammen von Zellmembranen, Vernetzungen bis zu interaktiven Steinskulpturen reichen, umfassen eine Vielzahl von Medien und verbinden traditionelle Techniken mit Hightech-Verfahren. Er führt verschiedene künstlerische und wissenschaftliche Disziplinen zusammen, um zeitgemäße Symbole zu erschaffen, die unsere ständig anwachsende Wissensbasis im Zeitalter der Informationstechnologie reflektieren und auch den Einfluss hervorheben, den diese Technologie selbst auf unsere persönlichen Entscheidungen und Vorstellungswelten hat.
Frieds eigener, katalytischer Mix aus Kritik und Philosophie, seine Wertschätzung des Unvorhersehbaren, von nichtlinearen Verknüpfungen, Dialog, Kunst und dem Erhabenen bildet den Kern seiner vielen einzigartigen Projekte. In der künstlerischen Zusammenführung dieser Faktoren verschmilzt er Minimalismus und Konzeptkunst mit Ästhetik und Philosophie und erschafft Arbeiten, die darauf angelegt sind, verschiedene kulturelle Grenzen zu überschreiten. Frieds umfangreiches Werk macht deutlich, dass Mythologie und Wissenschaft unauflöslich mit Glaubenssystemen verwoben sind und ständig im Dialog bleiben müssen – so wie die Kunst dem Leben folgt und das Leben der Kunst.
copyright ©david fried 2013