Ada Friedman by Alina Tenser

Ada Friedman’s art practice celebrates many tethered webs, including the ghosts of artists who have influenced her, marks of studio process and circumstance, and everyday life’s residue. Her work is vibrant with idiosyncratic logic, personal taxonomies, and a blend of inward- and outward-facing research. We first met in our twenties as studio mates before graduate school, exhibitions, or any significant opportunities. Over nearly two decades, we’ve witnessed each other’s evolving practices and lives. It was in those early studio days that I saw Ada take bold steps: first with her two-sided paintings, titled Thought Forms (2011–15), and soon after with performance-based activations of her paintings. Although our practices differ—mine being predominantly sculptural and hers focused on painting—we share a common interest in activating material and form through performance, making this conversation a natural exploration of our intersecting ideas and in tandem with Ada’s exhibition Ballads, which conducts a posthumous conversation with the poet Helen Adam.