Pedro Friedeberg - Maia Contemporary

Pedro Friedeberg - Maia Contemporary

Born in Florence, Italy, on January 11, 1937, he is naturalized. Mexican from the age of 7, he arrived in Mexico because his parents, German Jews, sought refuge in Mexico in 1939, escaping the Second World War. Since he was little, Pedro Friedeberg showed an interest in painting; in fact, his favorite artists were Piranesi and Canaleto.

 

Later, for some time he studied in Boston and in 1957 he enrolled in architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana, where he met Mathias Goeritz, a renowned Mexican artist. Upon finding his vocation, Pedro Friedeberg left his career in architecture and began studying plastic arts at the same university.

 

Since his first individual exhibition, the author's work was characterized by his own very defined style. In 1961 he joined the group called “Los Hartos” led by Mathias Goeritz. Precisely at this time (1962), Pedro Friedeberg made one of his first Fantastic Furniture; This is The Hand Chair: a right hand chair with ergonomic proportions that allows you to sit in your palm and the fingers function as a backrest.

 

Friedeberg opposes rational-functionalism, in which function supersedes form; The art of this highly prestigious author repudiates the absence of ornament and fantasy, which is why his painting, sculpture and prints are full of metaphysical, religious, Hindu and Aztec symbolism.

 

He has received various scholarships and awards such as the Córdoba Biennial, Argentina; at the Buenos Aires Engraving Triennial, Argentina; at the San Juan Biennial, Puerto Rico; as well as in the 11th Tokyo Graphic Biennial, Japan, which, together with his individual and group exhibitions, have made him a prominent figure in Mexican art. Among the exhibitions he has held we must highlight “Los Hartos” Antonio Souza Gallery (Mexico, DF), “Pedro Friedeberg” Galerie Carroll (Munich, Germany), “Confrontación 66” Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico, DF), “Fantastic Furniture”, Museum of Contemporary Crafts (New York, USA), “Pedro Friedeberg” Ex-Convento del Carmen (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico), “Pedro Friedeberg” Museum of Modern Art (Mexico, DF), “One Hundred Mexican Painters” MARCO Museum of Contemporary Art (Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico), “Self-portraits” Museum of Modern Art (Mexico, DF), “Pedro Friedeberg” Palace of Fine Arts (Mexico, DF), “Requiem for a fly” Museum of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Mexico City) and "Extravagancias y Pendejadas" FIFTY24MX (Mexico City).

Because he is an artist of high quality and distinctive characteristics, various museums and collections preserve works by Friedeberg: Musee du Louvre Paris, Museum of Modern Art New York (MOMA), Museo Omar Rayo Colombia, Museo José Luis Cuevas México, Museo de Arte Moderno of Mexico, Tel Aviv and Paris, Museo Cavalino Italia, as well as the Casa de Las Américas Havana. 

Surrealist artist best known for his “hand-chair” sculpture and his architectural inspired drawing creating unusual compositions that expresses irony and surfeit. Friedeberg belongs to a group of 20th century eccentric and iconoclastic artists like  Gunther Gerzso  and Leonora Carrington who were irreverent, rejecting the social and political art, which was dominant at the time. Friedeberg has had a lifelong reputation for being eccentric, and states that art is dead because nothing new is being produced.

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His works can be found in the permanent collections of MoMA NY, the  Musée du Louvre  in Paris, Museum of Modern Art, the  José Luis Cuevas Museum , the  Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago , the Museum of Contemporary Art in New Orleans, the  Library of Congress  in Washington DC, the  Rose Art Museum  of  Brandeis University  in Boston, the  National Research Library  in  Ottawa , the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the National Museum of Modern Art in  Baghdad , the  Ponce Museum of Art  in  Puerto Rico , the Franklin Rawson Museum in  Argentina , the  Omar Rayo Museum  in  Colombia  the Smithsonian Institute  in Washington, DC., The Museum of Arts and Design in New York. 

 

From his first exhibition, his work has had an easily identifiable style, although it is not easily classifiable. He often uses architectural drawing as his medium to create unusual compositions including designs for useless objects, often as a result of boredom. [1]  He has studied and incorporated elements of various artistic and design trends from his lifetimes from Art Noveau to Op Art. Much of his work has an industrial quality, stemming from his training as an architect. However, there is a dream like quality as well, painting impossible palaces and other structures, with countless halls and rooms, secret passages and stairs which are often absurd.  Irony and surfeit are generally expressed through the almost hallucinogenic repetition of elements and formal disorder, but it is the result of conscious thought.

 

Paintings, furniture and more are often characterized as being filled with ornamentation, with little or no white space, with lines, colors and symbols referencing ancient scriptures, Aztec Codices, Catholicism, Hinduism and the occult. [1] [6]  While his art has been criticized as adding ornament for its own sake or even distraction, he disagrees, saying that ornamentation is the oldest form of fine art, added to give objects an exceptional, even religious quality. He has called his extensive ornamentation of it, which includes elements from ancient texts, “Nintendo Churrigueresque”.

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Friedeberg belongs to a group of 20th century surrealist artists, which in Mexico include  Gunther Gerzso, Mathias Goeritz, Alice Rahon, Kati Horna, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Paul Antragne, who were grouped together under the name of Los Hartos. They were original, eccentric, irreverent and iconoclastic.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

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  • 1959 Diana Gallery, Mexico, DF

  • 1960 Protec Gallery, Mexico, DF

  • 1962 Antonio Souza Gallery, Mexico, DF

    • Villa Andre Bloc Gallery, Paris, France.

    • Carstairs Gallery, New York, USA

  • 1963 Pan American Union, Washington, DC, USA

    • The Foz Palace, Lisbon, Portugal.

    • Gallery Carroll, Munich, Germany.

  • 1964 Byron Gallery New York, USA.

  • 1965 Gallerie Brusberg Hanover, Germany

    • Gallerie Hella Nebelung Dusseldorf.

    • Container Corporation of America Chicago, Ill, USA

    • International Gallery, Baltimore. USES

  • 1966 Antonio Souza Gallery, Mexico City.

    • Feingarten Gallery Los Angeles, Cal, USA

  • 1967 Kiko Galleries Houston, Texas, USA

  • 1968 Glade Gallery, New Orleans, USA

    • Antonio Souza Gallery, Mexico City

  • 1970 Maurice Sternberg Gallery, Chicago, USA

  • 1971 Misrachi Gallery, Mexico City

    • Ex-convent of Carmen, Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico.

    • Gloria Luria Gallery, Miami, USA

    • Gallery of Modern Art. Phoenix, Arizona, USA

  • 1974 Pecanis Gallery, Barcelona, ​​Spain.

    • Misrachi Gallery, Mexico City

    • Grace Hokin Gallery Palm Beach, California, USA

  • 1975 Puebla Culture House, Puebla, Mexico.

    • House of the Bell Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.

    • Galerie Iris Clert, Paris France.

  • 1976 Covo de Iongh Gallery Miami Florida, USA

    • Gloria Luria Gallery Miami, Florida USA

    • Grace Hokin Gallery Chicago, Ill USA

  • 1978 The Art Center Museum Waco Texas, USA

    • Goldman Gallery Haifa, Israel.

  • 1979 Harcourt's Gallery San Francisco, California, USA

    • Kopeliovitch Gallery Montreal, Canada

    • Mixografia Gallery Los Angeles, California, USA

  • 1981 Phyllis Needleman Gallery Chicago, Ill, USA

  • 1983 Gallery of the Circle Mexico, DF

    • Speranza Gallery Montreal, Canada.

    • Mixografia Gallery Los Angeles, California, USA

  • 1984 Ravel Gallery Austin Texas, USA

    • Manolo Rivero Gallery Mérida Yucatán, Mexico.

  • 1985 Mer-kup Gallery Mexico City

    • El Nicromante Cultural Center San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

    • Carmen Llewellyn Gallery New Orleans, USA

  • 1986 Museum of Modern Art, Mexico, DF

    • Pape Museum Library, Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico

  • 1987 Vorpal Gallery New York, USA

  • 1988 Carmen Llewellyn Gallery New Orleans, USA

  • 1990 Mexican Art Gallery, Mexico, DF

    • Latane Temple Gallery San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

  • 1991 El Nicromante Cultural Center, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

  • 1992 Cultural Institute of Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico.

    • Cultural Institute of Veracruz, Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico.

    • REF Studios Houston Texas, USA

  • 1993 Gallery of Fine Art. San Antonio Texas, USA

  • 1994 Gallerie Simonne Stern New. Orleans, USA

  • 1995 Mexican Art Gallery Fine Arts San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

  • 1996 Mexican Art Gallery Mexico City

    • Diego Rivera House Museum Guanajuato, Mexico.

  • 1997 Tribute to Pedro Friedeberg.

    • Omar Rayo Museum, Roldanillo Colombia

    • 144 letters, Gallery Salón San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

    • Tarot and Zodiac Multimedia Cultural Center San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

    • Galerie Simmone Sterne New Orleans, USA.

  • 1998 Terán Cultural Institute. Aguascalientes, Ags. Mexico

    • Museum of Contemporary Art. Phoenix Arizona, USA

    • Pedro Friedeberg Museum, San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Mexico

    • “General Archive of the State of Pachuca”, Hidalgo, Mexico

    • Museum of The Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City

  • 2000 Cultural Institute Isidro Fabela, Mexico City

    • Drexel Gallery, Monterrey, NL. Mexico.

    • Galerie im Gassla. Nuremberg, Germany

  • 2001 “Desert Festival” La Paz, SLP, Mexico.

  • 2002 Museum of Mexican History, Monterrey, NL, Mexico

    • Former Palace of the Archbishopric Mexico City

  • 2003 Studio DVO, Brussels, Belgium

  • 2004 Pecannins Gallery, Mexico City

  • Cultural Institute, Aguascalientes, Mexico

  • 2005 Cultural Institute, Aguascalientes, Mexico

  • 2006 Tequila Cuervo Museum, Tequila, Jalisco

  • 2007 Casa Diana Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato

  • 2007 Watercolor Museum, Mexico City

  • 2008 Enrique Guerrero Gallery, Mexico City

  • 2008 Ruiz Healy Gallery, San Antonio, Texas

  • 2009 “Impeccable Confusions”, Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City

  • 2009 Reyna Henaine Gallery, New York, USA

  • 2010 “Baroqueism”, Municipal Palace, Puebla, Puebla

  • 2010 “Tree of LIFE”, Bicentennial Festival, Zocalo, Mexico City

  • 2010 El Cubo Cultural Center, Tijuana, Mexico

  • 2011 Plitechnic Institute, Faculty of Architecture, Mexico City

  • 2011 "Extravagances and Fools" FIFTY24MX Gallery, Mexico City

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Museums and Public Collections

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  • Museum of Modern Art. Mexico City, Mexico.

  • José Luis Cuevas Museum. Mexico City, Mexico.

  • Televisa Cultural Center. Mexico City, Mexico.

  • Museum of Contemporary Art. Toluca, Mexico.

  • Museum of Contemporary Art. Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.

  • Museum of Contemporary Art. Patzcuaro Michoacán, Mexico.

  • Museum of Modern Art New York, NY USA

  • Museum of Contemporary Art. Chicago Ill, USA

  • Museum of Contemporary Art New Orleans, LA USA

  • Pan American Union, Washington DC USA

  • Library of The Congress, Washington DC

  • Worcester Art. Museum Worcester, Mass

  • Rose Art Museum Brandies University, Boston Mass.

  • Washington and Lee University, Virginia, USA

  • Arizona State University, College, Arizona, USA.

  • Milwaukee Art Center Milwaukee, Minneapolis, USA.

  • California Palace of the Legion of Honor San Francisco, Cal. USA.

  • The Swann Collection of Caricature, New York, USA

  • J. Patrick Lannan Foundation Palm Beach Florida, USA.

  • Fort Lauderdale Art. Museum, Florida, USA.

  • The Ringling Museum Sarasota, Florida, USA.

  • National Research Library, Ottawa, Canada

  • The Science Museum Toronto, Canada

  • Vaughan Collection, Beaverbrook Art. Gal Canada

  • Musee du Louvre, Pavillon Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France

  • Musee Dárt Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France

  • Cavalino Museum, Brescia, Italy

  • Museum of Modern Art, Telaviv, Israel

  • The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

  • National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad Iraq

  • House of the Americas Havana, Cuba

  • Cultural Institute of Puerto Rico, San Juan Puerto Rico

  • Ponce Museum of Art, Puerto Rico

  • Franklin Rawson Museum, Argentina

  • Omar Rayo Museum Roldanillo, Colombia

  • East Texas Art Museum Beaumont, Texas, USA. Marco Museum, Monterrey NL Mexico.

  • Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC USA

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Awards

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  • 1966 Córdoba Argentina, Biennale. 2nd. Prize

  • 1967 Solar Exhibition México, DF 1st. Prize

  • 1979 Buenos Aires, Argentina Engraving Triennale.

    • 2nd. Prize San Juan de Puerto Rico

    • Biennale. 1st Prize

  • 1984 XI Biennale of Graphic Works. Tokyo, Japan. Special Award.

  • 1993 “Artistic Creator” Dsignation by the National System of Mexican and Foreign Creators.

  • 2011 Prize for cultural merit, Mexico City Government, Mexico DF.

  • 2012 Legionaire of Number, National Legion of Honor, Mexico.

  • 2012 Medal of Fine Arts, INBA, Mexico City

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Group Exhibitions

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  • 1960 “Los Hartos” by Mathias Goeritz, Mexico, DF

    • 4000 years of Mexican Art, National University of Mexico.

  • 1964 Paris Biennale, France.

  • 1965 “Box Show” Byron Gallery, New York, USA.

  • 1966 “Fantastic Furniture” Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, USA.

    • Surrealism and Fantastic Art Aristos Gallery, Mexico, DF

    • “Confrontation 66” Mexico City

    • “Cordoba Biennale”, Cordoba, Argentina.

    • “Labyrinthe Kunstakademie Berlin, Germany

  • 1967 “Expo 67” Toronto, Canada

  • 1968 “Hemisfair”, San Antonio, USA

    • “Solar Exhibition”, Mexico City

  • 1969 Contemporary Latin American Artists, Wilmington Museum, USA

    • Art of Ancient and Modern Latin America, New Orleans, USA

    • International Exhibition of Drawings, Rijeka, Yugoslavia.

    • XX Sao Paolo Biennale, Brazil.

  • 1970 Montevideo Biennale, Uruguay

  • 1971 Plastica Mexicana Annual Salon, Mexico City

  • 1972 Mexican Fantasy Art. Beaumont Museum Texas, USA

  • 1973 Mexican Watercolors and Graphic works.Tampa and Orlando Museums, USA

    • Surrealist Artists of the New World. Abele Gallery. Madrid, Spain

    • Coltejer Biennale, Medellín, Colombia.

  • 1974 3 Mexican Artists Halifax, Ottawa, Quebec and Calgary, Museums. Canada.

    • Mexican Contemporary Art. Tokyo and Kyoto Museums, Japan.

    • The Art of our Time. San Carlos Academy, Mexico, DF

    • First International Biennale of Graphic Work. Segovia Spain.

    • Panamerican Graphic Art Biennale, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

  • 1975 V World Psychiatric Congress. Museum of Modern Art, Mexico, DF

  • 1977 “Pastelart and Games”. Pecanins Gallery Mexico City

  • 1978 “The Post Vanguard” Naples, Italy.

    • “International Mail Art” Brescia, Italy

    • “Mantua Mail” 78 Mantua, Italy.

    • First Microbiennale of Postal Miniatures, Italy.

    • Mer-Kup Gallery, Mexico City

  • 1979 11th International Biennale of Prints. Tokyo, Japan.

    • The Engrave Triennale. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    • Biennale of San Juan de Puerto Rico.

    • “Chinchism” La Chinche Gallery Mexico City

  • 1980 Third World Biennale of Graphic Art. London, Great Britain.

    • Contemporary Mexican Masters. Houston, Texas USA.

    • Urban Friction. Contemporary Art Forum, Mexico City

  • 1981 Banamex Painting Exhibition. 1981 Mexico City

  • 1982 Tribute to Pablo Picasso. Metropolitan Gallery Mexico City

  • 1985 Biennale of Oslo, Norway

    • 19 Mexican Peintres, L'Espace Latinoamericain, Paris France.

    • 25th Anniversary. House of the Americas. Havana Cuba.

    • Contemporary Art Forum and Casa de las Americas, Havana, Cuba

  • 1986 Confrontation 86. Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico

    • Surrealism Exhibition, National Museum of Art, Mexico

  • 1991 Parallel Project. Mary Anne Martin New York, USA

    • Tribute to Fernando Gamboa. Palace of Fine Arts. Mexico DF

    • “Jesus Workshop”. La Estampa Museum Mexico City

  • 1992 “Tribute to Antonio Souza” Del Lago Gallery. Mexico DF

    • VIII Domecq Iberoamerican Biennale of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Mexico

  • 1993 Jesusa Workshop. Center Culturel du Mexique, Paris, France.

    • Past and Present. Banamex. Historical Center. Iturbide Palace Mexico City

    • “Letter Perfect” New Orleans Museum, USA

    • Art Object Cervantino Festival, Guanajuato, Mexico

    • Museum of Contemporary Art MARCO, Monterrey, NL. Mexico

    • “100 Mexican Painters” MARCO Museum, Monterrey, NL, Mexico

  • 1996 Museum of Contemporary Art MARCO, Monterrey, NL. Mexico

  • 1997 “Selfportraits”. Museum of Modern Art. Mexico City

    • “Unusual Dialogues” Museum of Modern Art. Mexico City

    • “Designed for Delight” Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada.

    • Museums of Krakow, Berlin London and Paris.

  • 1999 “Hommage to the drawing on pencil. Jose Luis Cuevas Museum, Mexico City

    • “Projekt Nürenberg” Galerie im Gässla Nürenberg, Germany.

    • Various Disciplines. Mexican Art Gallery, Mexico City

    • “Tribute to JA Manrique”, Cultural Institute of Aguascalientes, Guanajuato

    • “Portraits” Simone Stern Gallery. New Orleans, USA

    • “V Arte Bancomer Salon”Mexico DF

    • “World Festival on Art on Paper” Kranj Yugoslavia

    • “Contemporary Mexican Graphic Work” Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mexico.

  • 2000 “Mexican School from The Rupture to Geometrism”

    • Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City

    • “From my Collection” CONACULTA, Itinerant exhibition.

  • 2001 “Boxes” House of the first Press, Mexico City,

    • “Estampa 2001” Cultural Center El Nigromante, SMA Guanajuato, Mexico.

    • “Latin American Artists” Jose Luis Cuevas Collection. Mexico

  • 2003 “Apparently Sublime” Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City

    • “Nopal Urbano”, Mexico City

  • 2006 “Bancas” Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City

  • 2008 “Bells” Paseo de la Reforna, Mexico City

  • 2012 Kineticism, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City

  • 2012 Uriarte Ceramics, Franz Meyer Museum, Mexico City

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Bibliography

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  • Pedro Friedeberg, Ida Rodríguez Pampolini, University of Mexico, 1972

  • Pedro Friedeberg, catalog of the XIX Cultural Olympiad, 1968

  • Surrealism and Fantastic art in Mexico, Ida Rodríguez

  • Current Painting 1966, Alfonso Neuvillate.

  • Contemporary Art, Ida Rodríguez

  • Eroteik, JJ Beljon, Amsterdam 1967

  • Bilder des Verschollenen Stils, Ernst Fuchs Vienna.

  • Art in Latin American Architecture, Paul F. Damaz.

  • Fantasy Furniture, Thomas Simpson.

  • Art Today, Faulkner and Ziegfeld.

  • New Rites new myths, Guillon Dorfles

  • A guide to Mexican Art, Justino Fernández

  • Forty Centuries of Mexican Plastic Arts, Ida Rodríguez

  • Crafts of the world, Rose Slivka

  • Architecture Forms and Functions, 1962-1963

  • Contemporary Art with wood, Donna Z. Meilach

  • Mexican Drawing, Raquel Tibol

  • 200 Years Phantastische Kunst, Wieland Schmied

  • Advanced Wood Working, Time-Life Books.

  • Chair, Bradford and Prete.

  • Mexican Homes, O'Gorman and Schalkwijk

  • Mexico Modern Art II, A. de Neuvillate, Ediciones Misrachi.

  • Twelve famous recipes, American Express of Mexico.

  • Labirynthe, Heinz Ladendorf, Berlin, 1964

  • Who's Who in the world, 1971, 1972 and 1979

  • Ten interviews, Manuel Ávila Camacho

  • Dictionary of International Biography, London, 1980, 1982

  • Who's Who in the American Art, 1973 and 1976

  • Men of Achievement, 1975.

  • Who's Notable in Mexico, 1972

  • Mexico, Portico of America.

  • Encyclopedia of Mexico

  • Dictionary of Contemporary European Artists, Parma, Italy, 1980, 1982

  • The international Who's Who of Intellectuals, Cambridge, 1976.

  • Ornamentalism, Conway and Adams

  • Mathias Goeritz, Olivia Zuñiga

  • Mathias Goeritz, Federico Morais

  • Mexican engraving in the 20th century, 1922-1981, Hugo Covantes.

  • Portrait of an era, Xavier Esqueda.

  • Designed for delight, Montreal Museum

  • Grammar of art JJ Beljon, Netherlands

  • History of Mexican Art, Bancomer.

  • Furniture of the 60's Cara Greenberg, New York

  • He has also made mural paintings in various institutions in Mexico and abroad. He has also illustrated books, designed textbook covers and designed sets and costumes.

 

Source: https://www.maiacontemporary.com/pedrofriedeberg

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