New York, January 27, 2006 -- Barbara Mathes Gallery is pleased to present Gross Anatomy: New Work by Charley Friedman, an exhibition of 8 sculptures, to be held from February 16 – April 1, 2006, with a reception for the artist on Friday, February 17 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

The whimsical sculptures of Gross Anatomy feature figures appropriated from Miro's vocabulary of shapes and forms realized on a grand scale. A "Miro" side of each sculpture serves as an epidermal layer while the opposite side reveals an unexpected and fanciful anatomical study. In these works, each fashioned from wood, sheet metal, and enamel paint, Friedman playfully dissects Miro's figures, re-presenting them in anthropometric scale and thus blurring the line between the innards of the surrealist figures and our own 'gross anatomy'.

This is Charley Friedman's first exhibition with Barbara Mathes Gallery. He has previously shown at the Queens Museum of Art, PS1 Institute of Contemporary Art, Exit Art, and Jack Tilton Gallery, among others. Friedman studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine and received his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and his BFA from Macalester College. His work is included in the permanent collections of Amherst College, the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts.