TheArtBlog Found the First First Friday of the New Year to be full of “Great Stuff” NAPOLEON included! According to Libby and Roberta, NAPOLEON is a “shape-shifter,” with this month’s collaborative exhibition by Leslie Friedman and Bernardo Margulis being a great example of that kind of change. Each show, each installation makes the space grow or shrink in a way that asks you to question what you’ve seen there before. Leslie Friedman and Bernardo Margulis have collaborated this month on a complete dining-room-ization of the space. Wallpaper, a dining table set for 6 people, a side table with family pictures,…

In the article ‘Meta miniatures, poetry-inspired objects captivate at two Philly galleries,’ Chip Schwartz reviews the pairing of shows by NAPOLEON and Traction Company. In the article, Schwartz talks about the collaborative piece by Liza Coviello and Leslie Friedman called “Land”: Following suit by imposing lines of poetry on the three-dimensional realm, Liza Coviello and Leslie Friedman’s tall, hanging mobile of toy airplanes, chains and larger-than-life Scrabble tiles also directly quotes Stein. Titled “Land,” the movement of the slowly spinning strands of letters mimics the barely noticeable growth of our green, photosynthetic cousins. A box of dirt and plant replicas…

In Candy Without Consequence, Janette Chien writes about the “guilty pleasures” associated with the exhibition that just closed at Space 1026 In the review, Chien remarks on all the major pieces of the installation.  Of the animation, she writes: The video animation Taste you all over, poised on top of the cans, features a woman literally stimulating herself. The video plays off Friedman’s earlier Tasty installation, which is also included in this exhibition. Tasty depicts a soda can pouring “goo” into a woman’s mouth, recalling common pornographic moments. Unlike Tasty, Taste you all over removes the ejaculate and any other…

Alyssa Greenberg writes about her visit to Tastier at Space 1026 In the review, Greenberg recognizes the connections made in the work to America’s consumer culture: Leslie Friedman knows her way around a suggestive mise-en-scène. That much is clear after about a millisecond of looking at “Tastier,” her show at Space 1026; from every angle, the pieces deftly skewer the culture of materialism and do it stylishly, with maximum symbolic impact. Using time-honored icons of the culture – naked women, Coca-Cola — and tropes of pop art, “Tastier” is nothing we haven’t seen before. Its arrangement and choice of context, however,…

TheArtBlog.org announces the winners of the Fleisher Wind Challenge 2014 and Leslie Friedman is in! Fleisher Art Memorial’s announcements for the 36th Annual Wind Challenge Exhibition Series are now out in the world. 2014′s winners are: Barbarism (Sarah Secunda and Katherine Hirsch), Leslie Friedman, Daniel Gerwin, Talia Greene, Kay Healy, Maggie Mills, Janell Olah, and Ashley Wick. Congratulations to the artists of 2014! Challenge 1 opens the series on September 6 featuring Daniel Gerwin, Kay Healy, and Ashley Wick. Very exciting news!

Listed as one of their picks for the Arts and Culture Calendar, Philadelphia Weekly does a nice job summarizing the show Tastier at Space 1026. ART Tastier by Leslie Friedman A display of human ironies, consumerism, artificiality and more are revealed in this vibrant showing of message-ridden pop art. Through large depictions of Coke Zero cans, artificial sweeteners, and a sprinkle of sexuality, Leslie Friedman’s Tastier is a judgment toward humanity. 6pm. Free. Space 1026, 1026 Arch St. space1026.com Calendar available online or in print.

Leslie Friedman on the Radio! Peter Crimmins from Philadelphia’s NPR station stopped by Tastier to talk to Leslie Friedman about diet sodas In both the radio piece and the web-written review, Peter Crimmins makes some insightful points about Tastier, Leslie Friedman’s most recent solo-show at Space 1026 in July 2013.  Given the needs of the different media, the radio piece and the written one are a little different, so do take a listen and a look at both! In particular, the WHYY team was interested in making a connection between the show and a recent study released by Purdue University…

Don Brewer reviews “Urban Pop” on his blog, DonArtNews. To quote: Amie Potsic curated the exhibit at Main Line Art Center featuring work influenced by Pop Art and urban culture bringing together three great artists to celebrate Betsy Meyer who appreciated experimental art. The artists were free to experiment with the space: Leslie Friedman‘s Jewish skate nerd pop room, Jay Walker‘s Pyrotokos room and DISTORT‘s cyber-punk classic art from an imagined future are a match made in art pop heaven. Urban Pop is like a comic book, dumpster diver, post, post, post, post modern mash-up of concepts, materials and time. A…

In “Mainlining Urban Art – DISTORT, Jay Walker and Leslie Friedman at Main Line Art Center,” Edward Epstein writes about the show at the Main Line Art Center and the urban “detour” this work took to get to the ‘burbs. Epstein’s interpretation of the works is spot on. Friedman explained to me that her use of tile as pavement for ramps was a nod to urban skateboarding culture, but what’s really urban about her work is its unabashed Jewishness. Loud colors and patterns paired with unsubtle reminders of anti-Semitism reference a time when Jews did live on the other side…

Spring Arts: Make It Pop by Julia West Artists Leslie Friedman and DISTORT take what they know about urban living and pop culture and turn it sideways. To view the entire article online, click here.