Julie Friedman (b.1957)
Fish Out of Water, 2016
Materials: Colored paper collage with hand-cut black Tyvek, 28” x 36”
Location: Summa Health – Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Tower, Akron Campus, Sixth Floor Hallway (outside patient rooms H6-131 and H6-132)
About the Art
With its dynamic energy and sense of motion, Fish Out of Water immediately captures the viewer’s attention. Even before recognizing the forms of fish, water plants, and rippling pond reflections, we are drawn to the sweeping, sinuous lines and diagonal compositions that bring this work to life. Artist Julie Friedman has infused the scene with movement, reinforcing the idea that life itself is never static.
Friedman’s process is both meticulous and deeply considered. She began by studying fish in local pet stores and natural environments, sketching them on tracing paper to compose the overall design. Using an X-Acto knife, she then painstakingly cut the heavy black Tyvek, a material more commonly associated with construction, into intricate silhouettes of leaping, diving, and swimming fish, swaying reeds, and shimmering ripples. These dramatic cutouts were then affixed to collaged, vividly colored paper, where color not only enhances the sense of movement in the water and sky but also reflects her painterly instincts.
The title, Fish Out of Water, evokes a sense of displacement, describing something or someone out of its natural element, a feeling many of us can relate to at times. But the exuberant leaping fish in the composition suggest something more: Is this a struggle for survival, a moment of transformation, or simply the artist’s imaginative vision of a mass fish-jump? Inspired by both birds and fish in motion, Friedman cites M.C. Escher as an influence, particularly in his exploration of fluidity between air and water. Her ability to turn this concept into a visually stunning and thought-provoking piece was a key reason it was selected for the Summa Health collection.
Friedman’s mastery of cut paper led her to create large-scale installations that became immersive environments of floating forms and sweeping lines. However, the physical demands of this technique took a toll, and by 2016, she developed severe tendonitis, requiring her to pivot back to drawing, painting, and printmaking. Fish Out of Water stands as one of the last works she completed in this intricate cut-paper style, making it a rare and meaningful addition to our collection.
About the Artist
A longtime figure in Northeast Ohio’s arts community, Friedman lives in Medina and has played a vital role in the region’s creative landscape. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art from Kent State University, following an initial degree in interior design, and pursued postgraduate work at Cranbrook Academy of Art before completing her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin, specializing in printmaking and book arts.
Beyond her own artistic practice, Friedman is an educator, having taught at institutions including Kent State University, the Cleveland Institute of Art, John Carroll University, Youngstown State University, and the University of Akron. She has also served as a curator and gallery director and has received multiple grants from the Ohio Arts Council, as well as residencies at prestigious programs such as the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and the Glen Arbor Artist Residency in Michigan.
Where to See More of Her Work
Friedman’s work has been exhibited widely in Ohio and across the U.S., including North Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, California, and Virginia. She was featured in the inaugural video of What’s Up Cleveland, a series by SPACES Gallery, and has been the subject of critical essays, including Douglas Max Utter’s reflections on her early cut-paper works in Roots and Shadows: The Outlines of Change at the William Busta Gallery.
Her work is included in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Medina County Library, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and BakerHostetler in Cleveland, as well as in national collections such as the University of California at Irvine, Cal State San Diego, the University of Iowa, the University of Washington, and the Bellagio in Las Vegas. More recently, she has taken her printmaking in a new direction, incorporating natural materials into a technique she calls “Eco Printing,” which she applies to textiles such as wool, silk, linen, and cotton. To learn more, visit her website.
The Healing Arts at Summa Health