Nancy Friedemann’s interest in Spanish colonial painting and the Colonial Botanical Expedition of 1793 have provided her with a way to relate to cultural identity, by bringing specific plants to the forefront of her compositions. For this exhibition, she created a three-panel painting on mylar. The focal flower is the Curubas vine, or Passiflora mixta that is native to South America, and was identified in the Colonial Botanical Expedition of 1783. The plant’s name refers to the passion of Christ since the flower’s radial filaments resemble Christ’s crown of thorns. Passion flowers have been used to treat insomnia, hysteria, and epilepsy, as well as to relieve pain. Friedemann extends the vine to mingle the flowers and leaves with her lace-like tracery patterns. For many years she has borrowed from domestic crafts particularly lace-making and crochet. Sometimes poems or stories in Spanish, English or Jerigonza (a language learned from her mother and grandmother) are layered into the composition.

Nancy Friedemann’s artwork has always reflected her bicultural background and experiences. Born in Colombia to a Colombian mother and an American father, she received her BFA from the Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA, and her MFA from New York University, New York, NY. She has had solo exhibitions at Galeria Diners in Bogotá, Colombia, Cheryl Pelavin Fine Art, New York, NY; and the Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY. Her work has been featured in group shows at the University at Albany Art Museum, Albany, NY; Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia; El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY; Exit Art, New York, NY; Islip Museum, Islip, NY; and Gasworks, London, England. She received a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant and has participated in many residencies including the Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque, NM, and Arte dos Grafico, Bogotá, Colombia.
http://www.nancyfriedemann.com/