Dara Friedman

Dara Friedman (born 1968, Bad Kreuznach, Germany) is an artist who creates film and video works that use a carefully orchestrated filming and editing process, often collaborating with individuals and communities to capture the expressive qualities of the human body.

Background Friedman was raised between Palm Beach County and Bad Kreuznach, Germany. As a child, she took dance lessons and would attend dress rehearsals at the Düsseldorf Ballet where her aunt, , was a dancer.

She received her AB from Vassar College in 1990, and studied at the Städelshule in Frankfurt from 1989 to 1991. In 1994 she received an MFA, Motion Pictures from the School of Communication at the University of Miami.

Work and career

Friedman's film and video work is regarded for its ability to reduce film to its most basic, material essences in ways that create emotionally compelling, visceral experiences. Although these films do not have linear narratives, the calculated presentation of bodies in motion encourages the viewer to connect with the subjects and places on screen. Since the 1990s, Friedman has created film, videos, and installations that integrate these elements of structured and dynamic visuals. She is represented by Gavin Brown's enterprise, who has consistently featured Friedman's work since 1998.

Exhibitions The artist's first mid-career survey was organized by the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and curated by René Morales in 2017. The show featured fifteen installations spanning 20 years of her video works. A monographic catalog was produced by the museum in commemoration of the exhibition and the artist's career milestone.

Solo exhibitions Solo exhibitions of Friedman's work have also include: 1998: Dara Friedman: Total, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago 2001: Dara Friedman, SITE Santa Fe 2002: Dara Friedman, Kunstmuseum Thun 2005: Dara Friedman: Sunset Island, The Kitchen 2007: Musical, Public Art Fund 2009: Musical, The Museum of Modern Art 2009: Shooting Gallery, Julia Stoschek Collection 2012: Dara Friedman: Dancer, Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh 2012: Dara Friedman: Dancer, Miami Art Museum 2013: Dara Friedman: Dancer, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle 2013: Hammer Projects: Dara Friedman, Hammer Museum 2014: Dara Friedman: Projecting, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit 2014: Play (Parts 1 & 2), Hammer Museum 2017: Mother Drum, Aspen Art Museum 2018: Dara Friedman: Perfect Stranger, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida 2019/20: Dara Friedman: Temple Door - Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof, Hamburg, Germany

Collections Among the public collections holding work by Friedman are the Austrian Film Museum, Vienna; Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Pérez Art Museum Miami; Saint Louis Museum of Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Awards Friedman has been recognized with the following awards: 2019: Guggenheim Fellowship 2016: South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship 2012: Hammer Museum Artist Residency 2000: Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome 1999: Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant 1998: South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship 1997: New Forms Miami, Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs

Personal life Friedman is married to artist Mark Handforth. They live and work in Miami with their two daughters.