Michael Friedman:  

Life The following was recently published in an Art Magazine with an international subscription base. ‘This eight-year-old really loves artwork,’ was all that the adults could muster. At eight, Michael Friedman won first place in an All Adult Art Competition. His pencil drawing of a New England lighthouse stunned the judges, and revealed to young Michael his future path. At once, his pieces become clear and in the 'blink of an eye' abstractly dissolve, becoming a patchwork of color and form. Blocks of shading instantly provide a simultaneous solid read and then beautifully morph into unique outlines. The digital montage creates images with strong tonal contrast, appearing at first glance like an old black and white television show doctored by Technicolor; yet immediately this partial photographic ensemble is revealed as no mere morsel. Each piece is placed intensely and with purpose, occupying an out of the ordinary collision between abstract and apparent. These photographic montages can be classified as digital prints or illustrations, as the manipulation of Friedman becomes graphically evident. The range is resounding; while some pieces show clear evidence of their photographic origin, others have taken the journey beyond the lenses through the innovations of the artist’s hand. Evidently, this technique extends past his montage and photography compositions. Friedman’s watercolor method reveals his eye for instant color pattern, even in the lucid transparency of the fluid approach. Environment, no doubt, shapes the perspective of this colorful artist...Expand for more