Image from DesignBoom

This artist/sculptor goes against almost everything I normally like about art, but he is probably my favorite contemporary artist. He is a sculptor. And, his work is conceptual. That alone would make stay away from even looking at the work of an artist, but I love the work done by Tom Friedman. I recently received a book on his work, and the words of Adrian Searle explain the reason I like his work so much:

Many of Friedman’s works make me think of adult play, of the hobbyist’s obsessiveness abd meticulousness. I think of fly-tiers, men who would put ships in bottles, experts at marquetry. Why do I not then think of professional cabinet-makers, limners, miniaturists, watchmakers? There is something absurd and grand about Friedman’s project, something which defeats the professional stance. He does things the hard way, even when he makes it look so easy.

He takes the simplest objects and does things with them that don’t seem all that exciting, but you can’t help to keep looking at them and admiring the aesthetics and intricate nature of his artwork. His piece, Loop, is an entire box of spaghetti cooked, dried and then pieced end to end in one continuous loop that looks like a ball of yarn exploded. One of his works, Untitled, is a child’s school desk that has had holes drilled in it over and over again. It doesn’t seem all that exciting, but the work has this simplistic elegance to it that is truly amazing. His patience and attention to the smallest detail make his artwork special. I was so happy to learn about his work when I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago years ago, and I hope he makes his way back here very soon.