“Gross Anatomy” consists of nine highly refined, painted, sculptural figures. Formally, they reference the front and back of a paper doll. Each figure has a “skin” and an “organ” side. The “skin” is appropriated from Joan Miró paintings, and the reverse is an intricately painted anatomical structure designed to contour and fit organically into its respective body. Conceptually, I wanted them to function as though each Miró creature had the possibility of a dual genesis. On one hand, the sculptures exist because of their physiologies; organs, veins, and arteries working together to maintain life. Yet, there is the clear intent of the artist and his hand; the initial idea and the decisive mark that created the image. It is a metaphor about the act of creating: art and life continuously winking at each other yet, it is impossible to determine who winked first.
charley friedman, copyright