Pedro Friedeberg, legendary surrealist and creator of the iconic hand-chair, dies at 90
Pedro Friedeberg, Palmengarten, 1994, Acrylic, ink, pastel and stamps on museum board, 16 x 16 in., 40.6 x 40.6 cm.
SAN ANTONIO, TX.—
The family of Pedro Friedeberg has announced with deep sorrow his passing this morning in San Miguel de Allende, at the age of 90. Pedro died peacefully, surrounded by his family in peace and with love around him. His family is deeply grateful for all the time we have shared with him. His work and creative spirit leave an immense legacy. The family appreciates the expressions of sympathy and asks for respect and privacy at this time.
Ruiz-Healy Art played a part in the storied career of Pedro Friedeberg.
I first met Pedro Friedeberg in the early 2000's while working on my doctoral dissertation. My dissertation centered on the artist Mathias Goeritz, a close friend and a mentor of Pedro Friedeberg. We immediately connected and began working together soon after. Our first solo exhibition with Pedro was in 2008 at our San Antonio gallery, and his most recent solo exhibition was at our New York City gallery in 2021. Pedro was one of a kind. He had a zest for life that we should all try to embody. - Patricia Ruiz-Healy, Ph.D
Pedro Friedeberg was born on January 11, 1936, in Italy to German-Jewish parents. Friedeberg and his parents immigrated to Mexico in 1940 from Florence, Italy. As a child, he was particularly drawn to the illusionistic representation of architectural space, both in Italian Renaissance architecture and 18th century painting, as well as in the work of M.C. Escher and Josef Albers. He studied architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana, México City, where he was profoundly influenced by Mathias Goeritz (1915-1990) and his Bauhaus ways of teaching. Goeritz became a mentor, lifelong friend, collaborator, and champion of Friedeberg’s distinctive work.
”I was born in Italy during the era of Mussolini, who made all trains run on time. Immediately thereafter, I moved to México, where the trains are never on time, but where once they start moving, they pass pyramids.” - Pedro Friedeberg
Although Friedeberg’s artworks are sometimes described as Surrealist or Fantastic Realist, they are not easily definable in terms of conventional categories. His works include paintings, sculpture, printmaking, installations, and constructed montages, where the surrealist space is populated with borrowed and personal symbols.
“Who knows what one does or why? I think of my work as a pastiche. There’s a little bit of everything I like in there.” – Pedro Friedeberg.
Friedeberg has held individual exhibitions in Mexico, the United States, and Europe, notably mentioning Una retrospectiva Pedro Friedeberg: Arquitecto de confusiones impecables, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico; Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915-1985, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA, and Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924- Today, the Design Museum, London, England. The artist has exhibited extensively in museums, among others, Hamburger Bahnhof Museum, Berlin, Germany; Museum of Contemporary Art, Phoenix, AZ; San Antonio Museum of Art, TX; Museo de Arte Moderno, Tel Aviv, Israel; the Casa de las Americas, Habana, Cuba, and many more.
Friedberg’s artworks can be found in more than 50 international museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY; the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris France; Musée du Louvre, Pavillon Art Décoratifs, Paris, France; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Yerevan, Armenia; The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA. among others.
