William Shearburn Gallery

William Shearburn Gallery is pleased to announce 6S, 5P, 1P and 1V, a solo exhibition by Tom Friedman. Tom Friedman’s practice is rooted in the Zen Buddhism philosophy that meditation and mindfulness will lead to discovery, both self and otherwise. This philosophy not only applies to his creative process but also the relationship between the viewer and object and what he describes as “the space between”. His fluctuation between the conceptual and comical is fueled by the use of everyday materials to create eccentric works of art. The exhibition title, 6S, 5P, 1P and 1 V, is a non-poetic and cryptic way of referring to the exhibition’s contents, 6 sculptures, 5 prints, 1 painting and 1 video projection. Highlighted in the exhibition is Mini Retrospective, an installation of a miniature sculpture from every series of work the artist has created. Additionally on view will be works meticulously and methodically crafted with Styrofoam cups, pink packing peanuts, aluminum foil and other non-traditional art making materials. Tom Friedman is a conceptual artist born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1965. He received a BFA in graphic illustration from Washington University in St. Louis in 1988 and a MFA in sculpture from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1990. Friedman has had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Saint Louis Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary in Chicago, among others. His work has also been included in major group exhibitions at the São Paulo Biennial, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, SITE Santa Fe, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Friedman's achievements have been recognized with numerous awards, including an Academy Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, and a grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Friedman lives and works in Leverett, Massachusetts.