"...His creation expresses the rich cultural background and the knowledge he possesses, his typical contradictoriness, the simultaneous delving into countless topics and his constant escape from the “unbearable easiness of painting” as well as a real aversion from conventions. An attempt to classify Michael Friedman’s work is almost an impossible feat. It is obvious in his works that he knows and has implemented every period from among the periods of the history of art. Some kind of yearning for classic sometimes echoes in lines and in color, but it is only used as a point of origin for a very personal move that relies on, and simultaneously escapes from, the same central currents in art with which he dialogues negatively. This way it is possible to clearly identify the traces of constructivism, the abstract, the expressionistic and other artistic movements in the 20th century. In contrast with the characteristics of these currents, the figurative form does not serve as a point of origin but is rather constructed using an array of some form of paint molecules that create the textures and surfaces within which the character is formed. This human character, which appears in some of his paintings, is seemingly woven from out of the background, created by a meeting of colors and layouts with its surrounding space. The beginning of the work is an adventurous, Sisyphean journey into the subconscious. Michael Friedman does not prepare his moves in advance like a chess player. He draws the figurative ideas from it. His vast experience and medium control assist him in creating those same complexes in which, from out of the texture and color patterns, the balanced composition is born, whether it is figurative or abstract.

It seems that the natural aspiration of every artist is to expose his creation to the audience every now and then. This exhibition by Michael Friedman, held in Rehoboth, is his second exhibition in Israel and their rarity is not just the result of the difficulty of finding a suitable stage. It even connects with features of his personality that both hide, and seek to be revealed..."

 

Yoav Dagon