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“When you hear someone referred to as an ‘artist’s artist’ or a ‘painter’s painter,’ it’s a good indication that you’ve stumbled on a beloved secret.”
–Alex Cornacchia, “Indirect Edges: The Semi-Abstractions of Joseph Friebert”
Madron presents Joseph Friebert: The Experimental Years, an in-depth look at Friebert’s (1908–2002) journey into semi-abstraction. The exhibition comprises seventeen paintings from the artist’s estate (Joseph and Betsy Ritz Friebert Family Art Partnership), the Museum of Wisconsin Art, and the Cedarburg Art Museum. Commissioned for the show, “The Indirect Edge: Joseph Friebert’s Semi-Abstractions,” an essay by Alex Cornacchia, provides insight into the painter’s artistic practice, career, and the people and events that influenced his life. Art historian Sue Taylor will give a talk exploring Friebert’s art in the context of postwar American abstraction as well as concepts of empathy in painting—concerning both artist and audience—at Madron on Saturday, October 14, at 2:00 p.m. Madron will also host a mid-show reception in conjunction with Lincoln Park Art Night on Thursday, November 2, from 6:00–9:00 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. The semi-abstractions of the Milwaukee-based Friebert possess a quiet and personal interpretation of space, color, and texture that brought him international attention at the 1956 Venice Biennale. His work from this era has often been overlooked in favor of his earlier landscapes and Social Realist compositions of the 1930s and 1940s. Joseph Friebert: The Experimental Years focuses on a period during which Friebert forged a new artistic direction for himself. Using the painting techniques of the Old Masters and drawing inspiration from urban architecture and surrounding rural landscapes, Friebert created a unique visual vernacular, one of interwoven, glowing forms and nebulous edges. Friebert became a full-time artist and educator at the age of thirty-eight, following his initial career as a pharmacist. He received a bachelor’s degree in art education from Milwaukee State Teachers College (now the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, or UW-M) and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1946 through 1974, Friebert served on the faculty of the art department at UW-M. During his lifetime, Friebert’s work was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, and Whitney Museum of American Art, among others. After his death, the Joseph and Betsy Ritz Friebert Family Art Partnership collaborated with the Kohler Foundation, which distributed 285 of Friebert’s paintings, drawings, and prints to museums throughout the East Coast and Midwest. Today, Friebert’s artwork can be found in forty-four North American museums, as well as in private collections in the United States and abroad. Sue Taylor is an art historian, curator, and critic. She earned her B.A. in art history at Roosevelt University and her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. Taylor’s publications include numerous catalogue essays, as well as articles and reviews in American Art, American Craft, Art Journal, Art in America, ARTnews, ArtUS, Chicago Sun-Times, Dialogue, Fiberarts, New Art Examiner, Oregon ArtsWatch, and The Oregonian. She is the author of two monographs, Hans Bellmer: The Anatomy of Anxiety (MIT Press, 2000) and the award-winning Grant Wood’s Secrets (University of Delaware Press, 2020). Formerly Associate Dean in the College of the Arts and Professor of Art History at Portland State University, Taylor received the Kamelia Massih Outstanding Faculty Award before her appointment to emerita status in 2019. Alex Cornacchia is a Chicago-based writer and researcher whose interests include art, madness, language, and the ways we try to find and make meaning in the midst of instability. Cornacchia is the author of William S. Schwartz: Color and Coloratura, a survey of the life and career of Chicago artist William Schwartz (Madron Press, 2020). Their articles, essays, and reviews have appeared in publications like New Art Examiner, The Creativity Post, and Misadventures Magazine. They hold a bachelor’s in psychology and art history from Vassar College and are currently pursuing an advanced certificate in disability studies through CUNY. Madron is home to Madron Gallery, Madron Press, and the Skolnik family’s private art collection. The Skolnik family, the founders of Madron, is committed to supporting Chicago-area artists, celebrating Jewish heritage, and acting as stewards of the legacy of American art. Through scholarship-informed programming and the en suite exhibition of artwork available for purchase alongside pieces from the family’s private collection, Madron has carved out a unique place in Chicago’s artistic landscape, sparking dialogue about the ongoing significance of nineteenth and twentieth-century art in today’s world and fostering a dynamic community for Chicago’s culture-makers, shapers, and appreciators.
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