Dan Friedman: Why Shouldn’t I Have Fun All Day?

Superhouse is proud to present a solo exhibition on Dan Friedman, "Why Shouldn't I Have Fun All Day?," in collaboration with the artist's estate. This show marks the first gallery presentation of the late artist's work since 1994 and follows a 2023 retrospective at The Art Institute of Chicago. The works on view are offered to the public for the first time, marking a significant opportunity for institutions and collectors to access important, personal pieces by the artist. The exhibition runs from February 6 to March 22, 2025, at Superhouse, 120 Walker Street, 6R, New York, NY.

As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of Friedman's passing in 1995 due to complications related to AIDS, "Why Shouldn't I Have Fun All Day?" offers an intimate glimpse into the artist's domestic life, featuring a selection of artworks from his collection and those of close friends and family. Friedman, a groundbreaking graphic designer and artist, played a pivotal role in the Lower East Side art scene of the 1980s, forming lasting friendships and collaborations with influential contemporaries such as Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, and Willi Smith.

In the late 1970s, while working as a corporate design executive and a Yale University professor, Friedman began to transform his one-bedroom apartment in a conventional high-rise overlooking Washington Square Park into a living "sketchbook" for his art. He utilized every surface—from walls to ceilings to appliances—as a canvas, developing experimental ideas around shape, volume, and color. His innovative approach challenged the orthodoxy of "good design." As Friedman 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." The installation of "Why Shouldn't I Have Fun All Day?" evokes the atmosphere of Friedman's apartment as documented in his influential 1994 treatise, Radical Modernism, with works set against Day-Glo painted walls (the same paint Friedman used) and nestled among the artist's personal effects.