Zipora Fried works fluidly across drawing, sculpture, and photography. Born in Haifa, Israel, she studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna and now lives and works in New York. Known for bringing together distinct bodies of work in unexpected contiguity, Fried creates new visual and conceptual dialogues. In typical Viennese tradition, her practice probes the tension between surface and subconscious, using gesture and repetition to both construct and erode from.

Endurance and process are central to Fried’s approach. Her meticulously crafted sculptures and drawings emerge from time-intensive, often meditative labor. Sizeable colored pencil drawings, built up over months, are densely layered, radiatating contemplative stillness and quiet introspection.

In addition to her work on paper, Fried has explored photography in a series of early, enigmatic portraits. The group includes four photographs—three in black and white, one in color—featuring friends of the artist. Each portraits examines themes of concealment, presence, and perception. R.H., the only color image in the series, shows a woman whose face is hidden behind an oversized pink chrysanthemum. Vivid inked tattoos ornament her shoulders, suggesting a winged protagonist shielded from view.

The chrysanthemum, from the Greek χρυσός (chrysos or gold) and ἄνθεμον (anthemon or flower), holds a range of symbolic meaning across cultures. Like the tattoos that echo its form, chrysanthemums often signify longevity, joy, and good fortune: emblems of strength and endurance that mirror the spirit of Fried’s work.