Ceysson & Bénétière

Gloria Friedmann is a visionary artist whose modesty is matched only by her straightforward approach to her subjects that she masters so well. Her work is absolutely not based on theory, but on artistic practice influenced only by observation.

From the early 1990s, Gloria Friedmann took an interest in nature and portrayed this interest by assembling natural objects and industrial products: windscreens laid out on the ground to resemble a wave, sections of hose pipes depicting grasses blowing in the wind, and plastic bags representing a stormy sky. Stuffed animals are set up in strange, intriguing and sometimes disturbing scenes. Each artwork demonstrates how mankind is distorting nature for its own gain, and highlights the futile, pointless reasons for doing so. For this reason, Gloria Friedmann describes the world as “Absurdistan”.

The artist is exhibiting Le Locataire (The Tenant) at the Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire, in the Stables Canopy. A sphere is balanced on a tortoise’s back with a man sitting on the top. He is wearing a shirt, jacket and trousers and is sitting comfortably, but for how long? The man is positioned at the top, dominating his surroundings. Is this his rightful place? This is a question that Gloria Friedmann is always asking herself. “I believe that if we accept that we are animals like everyone else, we would see things differently. Without a need to change the world, we would be at peace. One thing is certain: our planet will be around long after us! Between the before and the after, the present is ours.”