Mother and Child, 2016
Inkjet print, 36 × 34 ½ inches
Edition 2/7
Unframed

Tom Friedman makes extraordinary work that explores ideas of perception, logic, and possibility. His often painstakingly rendered sculptures and works on paper inhabit the grey areas between the ordinary and the monstrous, the infinitesimal and the infinite, the rational and the uncanny. His work is often deceptive, its handmade intricacy masked by a seemingly mass-produced or prefabricated appearance. Friedman’s deadpan presentation implies content and form are seamless; expectations are overturned as the viewer slowly perceives that chasm between illusion and reality.

“The artist Tom Friedman tends to blow our minds and then move on, rarely repeating himself,” said The New York Times. His work has been exhibited internationally in galleries and museums, including solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Fondazione Prada, Milan; Magasin 3, Stockholm Konsthall; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art; the South London Gallery, and numerous other institutions. Recent solo exhibitions include: Gravity, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, England (2014); Paint and Styrofoam, Luhring Augustine, New York (2014); Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, England (2012); Up in the Air, Magasin 3, Stockholm Konsthalle, Stockholm; touring to FRAC Montpellier, France (2010); REAM, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis (2009); Pure Invention, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Saint Louis (2006); Tom Friedman, South London Gallery, London, England (2004); Stitching, Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy (2002). His work is currently on view at MASS MoCA in Explode Every Day: An Inquiry into the Phenomena of Wonder, through March 19, 2017.

Courtesy of the Artist

Estimated value: $8,500

The October 25 live auction will be conducted by Eric Widing, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s Americas. To place an absentee bid, fill out this form, and email it to Rebecca Wehry at rwehry@massmoca.org by 10am on October 25.