Tom Friedman

A unique insight into the making of Up in the Air, the largest artwork Friedman has made to date for a solo exhibition. Since his breakthrough in the late 1990s, Tom Friedman has become one of the most influential artists of our times by transforming everyday objects such as toothpicks, toilet paper, hair and sugar cubes into extraordinary works of art. This book is a unique insight into the making of Up in the Air, the largest artwork Friedman has made to date for a solo exhibition at Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall in 2010. It features an essay by Charlotte Eyerman, art historian, curator and a leading authority in modern and contemporary art, and an exclusive interview with Tom Friedman by Richard Julin, Ccurator and deputy director of Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall. This astonishing artwork consists of nearly a thousand meticulously handcrafted objects suspended from the ceiling at different heights – an art-work that kept Friedman’s studio busy for over two years. Up in the Air invites the observer to enter into Friedman’s complex and humorous world. Carefully navigating through the multitude of objects, one can discover references to popular culture, science, politics and religion. By posing fundamental philosophical questions, Friedman intends to “slow down the process of looking” in a world of information overload.