FEDELE MAURA FRIEDE the hem comes undone

In the exhibition the hem comes undone, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is presenting works on paper, texts and paintings by the artist Fedele Maura Friede (b. 1997), who was awarded the prestigious Horst Janssen Graphic Art Prize of the Claus Hüppe Foundation. Friede is the 8th recipient of the generously funded prize for artists working with drawing and printing, which is endowed with 20,000 euros. The artist’s works range between microcosms and sweeping panoramas. They hint at a hidden narrative without being too literal or following a set story. In her artistic practice, Friede draws on various forms of expression that combine drawing in a broader sense with painting and text to create a dialogical relationship. The special quality of her images lies in their inherent disorientation: Her drawings are produced and legible from all angles of the sheet of paper. With their map-like lines and folds, they elude a rigid structure so that the perspective constantly shifts. In the frame of the graphic art prize, the exhibition in the Harzen-Kabinett, Friede presents 14 works, including one site-specific. The drawings on semi-transparent Japanese paper are bedded atop foam cushions – which allows them to unfold their full effect by bringing out the delicate colours and lines. 

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Fedele Maura Friede was born in Holzminden. She lives and works in Leipzig, where she completed her studies (2016–2024) at the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB) with distinction. In 2024, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies at the University of Leipzig. Since autumn 2024, she teaches at the HGB in Franziska Reinbothe’s class for painting and graphic art. 

Horst Janssen Graphic Art Prize

The Horst Janssen Graphic Art Prize of the Claus Hüppe Foundation has been awarded at regular intervals since 2003. The award ceremony was held for many years at the Horst Janssen Museum in Oldenburg, dedicated to the German draughtsman, graphic artist, author, poster artist, illustrator and photographer Horst Janssen (1929–1995). Now, the graphic art prize is being awarded for the second time in Hamburg, where Horst Janssen lived and worked, hosted by the Hamburger Kunsthalle, which houses the world’s most extensive collection of Janssen’s works. The prize is dedicated to discovering and promoting young artists and new positions in the field of graphic art in cooperation with German universities and academies. The jury, made up of Dr. Catherine de Zegher (art historian, curator, art critic), Prof. Dr. Alexander Klar (Director, Hamburger Kunsthalle), Dr. Corinne Diserens (Head of Contemporary Art – Graphics, Photography, Media, Hamburger Kunsthalle), Dr. Dirk Dobke (Director, Griffelkunst-Vereinigung Hamburg e.V.) and Rik Reinking (founder, Woods Art Institute), chose Fedele Maura Friede as the 2025 recipient. The artist was nominated by Prof. Dr. Beatrice von Bismarck (Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig). In its statement, the jury praised: »[...] the interconnection of drawing, mapping and writing, as well as the narrating of the world through a fragmented vision, which allows different ways of looking and constitutes both inner an outwardly oriented worlds.«

 

In addition to an exhibition, the graphic art prize also entails a publication. The artist book Location Determination (Kerber Verlag, German and English) features both texts and artworks by Fedele M. Friede. It also includes a poetic essay by the writer Tatjana von der Beek. In the latter’s words: »The thin wallpaper cracked and sharp on the palms of my hands. Were I to move them swiftly across the wall, they would rip open my skin.« The publication is available from the museum shop for 32 euros or from www.freunde-der-kunsthalle.de at the bookshop price of 38 euros.