Steven Friedman

Windows through the forest

Steven Friedman takes the viewer on a magical journey through faraway forests and untouched nature. Ferns in countless colours wrap themselves around the bright trunks of aspen trees, in whose tops one can spot the last scattered vestiges of summer’s green. Friedman’s striking panoramas present the forests as magnificent natural spectacles. Above all, his interest lies in the remarkable diversity of wild aspen trees in autumn, a time when the landscape appears in its most diverse, dynamic and nuanced colours.

The images in “Windows through the forest” may be stationary, but they have the remarkable power to move their viewers. Friedman travels far and wide to capture the imposing landscapes: from Chile to Tasmania to the Rocky Mountains in America. This search is only half the battle, however: Once he has found his subject, the Canadian artist begins the laborious process of finding the ideal angle. Our irrepressible attraction to the photographs is a by-product of the artist’s evocative image style, which draws out nature’s hidden beauty by distilling the chaos and confusion of raw nature into structured compositions.

Friedman’s approach allows him to develop entire narratives in the images, pulling the viewers into his world. As he explained in an interview, “The prints are like windows to the landscape. I want the viewer to feel like they are beside me when I took the picture.”

The artist’s own story began on Salt Spring Island in Canada. His works have now appeared in countless exhibitions across the world, including in Los Angeles and San Diego and, in the context of the 2010 Hasselblad Masters, in Hong Kong, Copenhagen, New York, and London.

Hannah Hör

1964 born in Ottawa, Canada
Professional photographer since 2000
Lives and works on Salt Spring Island in Canada

Group Exhibitions

2013	International Photography Awards Best of Show, Los Angeles, USA
	The Lando Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
	Mountain Galleries, Jasper, Canada
2012	Masters Show, Salt Spring Island, Canada
2011	Masters Show, Salt Spring Island, Canada
	Color of Water, Natural History Museum, San Diego, USA
2010	The Hasselblad Masters: Hong Kong, Copenhagen, New York, London
	Masters Show, Salt Spring Island, Canada
	Photo Lumiere, Salt Spring Island, Canada
2009	Masters Show, Salt Spring Island, Canada
	Photo Lumiere, Salt Spring Island, Canada
	Photosynthesis, Salt Spring Island, Canada
2008	Photo Lumiere, Salt Spring Island, Canada
	Photosynthesis, Salt Spring Island, Canada
2007	Photosynthesis, Salt Spring Island, Canada
2006	Photosynthesis, Salt Spring Island, Canada
2005	Sidney Fine Art Show, Sidney, Canada
2004	Photosynthesis, Salt Spring Island, Canada
	Sidney Fine Art Show, Sidney, Canada