Dan Friedman's goofy objects at Superhouse question 'Why Shouldn't I Have Fun All Day?'

"I have used my home to push modernist principles of structure and coherency to their wildest extreme," internationally renowned artist, educator and graphic designer Dan Friedman wrote in his influential 1994 treatise Radical Modernism. "I create elegant mutations, radiating with intense colour and complexity, in a world that has deconstructed into a goofy ritualistic playground for daily life," he said. Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the artist's passing in 1995 (due to AIDS-related complications), New York-based gallery Superhouse presents the solo exhibition Why Shouldn't I Have Fun All Day?, on view from February 6 – March 22, 2025. The show, in collaboration with Friedman's estate, is the first gallery presentation of the late artist's work since 1994, following a 2023 retrospective at The Art Institute of Chicago. The art exhibition will spotlight works from the artist's domestic life and personal collections, marking their debut on a public platform.

Friedman was positioned at the forefront of the Lower East Side art scene of the 1980s, with collaborations with seminal professionals such as Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and Willi Smith. It was in the late 1970s, while he was working as a corporate design executive and Yale University professor, that he began the transition of his conventional high-rise flat overlooking Washington Square Park—its walls, ceiling and appliances—into a living 'sketchbook'. His unconventional approach challenged and reimagined the notion of good design; he stated, "I created an extreme caricature of the beautiful modern American home to bring into question our notion of what is a beautiful modern American home." This is the very atmosphere that Superhouse aims to mirror in Why Shouldn't I Have Fun All Day?, guided by the documentation in Radical Modernism.

Upon realising the rigidity and mirthlessness that pervaded the corporate world of design, Friedman stepped away from his day job to devote the rest of his life to complex and symbolic objects reminiscent of his lived experience. "I began to live a double life—out at night, meeting non-designers, artists," he said, recalling his life at the beginning of the 1980s. "I realised I was having more fun working at night in this other world, this other side of New York City. I thought, 'Why shouldn't I have fun all day?'" he stated.

The upcoming exhibition looks back at this period of Friedman's unbridled creativity. The exhibition space will feature pieces such as the spray-painted Basic Screen (1981), Friedman's first folding screen. The design shares a glimpse of the American artist's acceptance of the realities of graffiti-covered urbanscapes. He went on to create several more folding screens on casters, titled movable walls—speaking of ever-changing interests, moods and seasons.

The Wicky Wacky Table (1981), a grass-skirted dining table featuring a traditional dentil cornice, will also partake in the show. Alongside, viewers can encounter A Fallen Sky in a Regal Landscape (1985), a vivid, neon-coloured assemblage of urban debris, which once inhabited the artist's home and lives on as his comment on the wastefulness of American consumerism. The USA Table (1986), a composition of medium-density fibreboard and metal donned in paint, evokes the shape of the continent of the United States. Another playful table design by Friedman, Ball Table (1985), features a transparent cylindrical base filled to the brim with small plastic balls, contained only by a circular top. The ensemble on display will also present Cosmos I (1989), a metallic lighting design with tiny bulbs protruding out of its brightly coloured surface.

Why Shouldn’t I Have Fun All Day? aims to lay bare the artistic principles and philosophies of a groundbreaking American designer who contributed significantly to the larger scene. The show will do so not only by platforming his professional oeuvre but by bringing the viewers vis-à-vis his idea of a home, allowing them to experience the 'sketchbook' in which his mundane life unravelled. Revealing these facets to the public for the first time, Why Shouldn’t I Have Fun All Day? offers an opportunity for institutions, collectors and enthusiasts to access the pieces of Friedman's legacy.

'Why Shouldn't I Have Fun All Day?' will be on view from February 6 – March 22, 2025, at Superhouse, 120 Walker Street, 6R, New York, NY.