ADA FRIEDMAN
Star
11. October - 13. December. 2025
CIRRICULUM VITAE
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• Ora Art Reviews
Installation view
PRESS RELEASE
Star is the name of the artist’s cat. Cats are no joke. They are theatrical. They take us out of ourselves, and put us back in our place. They have nine lives, a keen sense of infinity, and move at seven times our speed, from where we are sitting. Their self-care rituals are a thing to behold.
Ada Friedman’s paintings thrill us. Confronted with their plain unqualified existence, we are faced with an artist’s heroic yet humble project: Let Abstraction face Nature. Hone in on the “zero” of painting, knowing it will remain undiscovered, a Grenzbegriff.
Ada Friedman’s paintings are calendars from out of time. Meticulous records of the freedom to create, move and be still. They often take years to complete (in this show, the three principal works are each 3-4 years in the making). No process is central, but Ostranenje and defamilarisation function as a means of connection, of renewing perception. Making things strange, but substantial. This takes time.
There is much tenderness here, about what will forever stay hidden and yet remains in play. One side of the painting is hidden from the other. Layers of subtle hues, covering notes to self and other details. A chronicle of meticulous plans, their abandonment or fulfillment; many stories told. Geometric rules subverted with a light touch. An exacting shade of brown, across a can lid and the underlying scrap of jean fabric, itself bonded to silken paper and this in turn to sheets of polymers, mirrored or transparent.
“Painting is loss,” Ada will say.
What is painting as such? Pure colour radiates in contradiction to the sediments of history. Referent hangs with referent, signs exchange signals. Malevich, minus the irony, but funny. The cat looks back at you across the unspeakable void, ready to cuddle.
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Threshold 4 (2023 - 2025) (side B)
acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, soft pastel, watersoluble wax pastel, conté crayon, colored pencil, graphite, pen, canvas, linen, drawing papers, glassine, acrylic mediums, PVA size, self-adhesive hole reinforcement stickers, LA thrift store pretend leather purple jacket, plastic bags, woodchips
84 x 76 in. / 213 x 193 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Threshold 4 (2023 - 2025) (side A)
details, side A
details, side B
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2, drawing 1 (2025)
acrylic, crayon, pastel, graphite and ink on paper
17 x 22 in. / 43 x 55 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2 (2021-2025) (side A)
oil, acrylic, watercolor, India ink, graphite, water soluble pastel, colored pencil, graphite, glassine, canvas, linen, archival tissue paper, tin foil, cinefoil, Mylar, acrylic mediums, PVA size, mod podge matte, collected fabrics, favorite old jeans, Roz’s work dress and practice embroidery, tin can lids
53½ x 97 in. / 135 x 246 cm
details, side A
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2 (2021-2025) (side B)
details, side B
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Threshold 5, 2024 - 2025 (side B)
Oil, Acrylic, Water-Soluble Wax Pastel, Soft Pastel, Colored Pencil, Watercolor, Watercolor Pencil, Graphite, Pen, Charcoal, India Ink, Glassine, Tissue Paper, Linen, Canvas, Mylar, Acrylic Mediums, PVA Size, and Grommets
84 x 77 in./ 213.36 x 195.58 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Threshold 5, 2024 - 2025 (side A)
details, side A
details, side B
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: drawing (2022-2025)
acrylic, pastel, graphite, charcoal, marker, mylar, tape on paper
12 x 9 in. / 30 x 22 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Bridge 2, 2026
oil, water soluble oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, soft pastel, chalk, graphite, pen, marker, colored pencil, watercolor colored pencil, canvas, drawing papers, acrylic mediums, black and clear gesso, PVA size, epoxy, Gudy, purple linen pants from upstate NYC thriftstore, washers from Ace in Medina
70 x 30 in. / 177 x 76 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2, 2 (2022-2025)
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2, 3 (2022-2025)
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2, 4 (2022-2025)
each: 36 x 24 in. / 91.5 x 61 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2, 4 (2022-2025)
oil, acrylic, India ink, watercolor, soft pastel, colored pencil, graphite, pen, marker, chalk, linen, acrylic mediums, PVA size, black gesso, mod podge matte, dried leaf, craft store fancy soft leather, stretcher bars, staples
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2, 2 (2022-2025)
oil, acrylic, India ink, watercolor, soft pastel, colored pencil, graphite, pen, marker, chalk, linen, acrylic mediums, PVA size, black gesso, mod podge matte, embroidered leather vest, staples
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Ceiling 1, Floor 2, 3 (2022-2025)
oil, acrylic, India ink, watercolor, soft pastel, colored pencil, graphite, pen, marker, chalk, linen, acrylic mediums, PVA size, black gesso, mod podge matte, cinefoil, sparkle-beaded costume, staples
36 x 24 in. / 91.5 x 61 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: Threshold Nr. 4, drawing 1 (2025)
acrylic, pastel, watercolor, graphite, charcoal,Pantone swatches, staples, pen on paper
18½ x 11 in. / 46 x 27 cm
Performance Proposal, Pathwork: 488 Greene Mirror Drawing (2022-2025)
crayon, graphite, marker, pen on paper
5¼ x 3½ in.
13 x 8 cm