About

HONEST ABE FRAJNDLICH
How the Cleveland Kid photographs icons with his Nikon

What do you do when you see Irving Penn peering back at you through your lens?
I’d panic then practice Zen.

What to do when Cartier Bresson shouts as you shoot, “Get out of my way, Be Gone!” and hits you on the head?
I’d be frantic and play dead.

And when you ask Annie to sit in a chair and suddenly your camera is flying midair, because La Leibovitz has thrown a fit, I’d quit in despair.

But not Frajndlich. The Cleveland Kid is very brave and has a trick or two up his sleeve. Anyone who can turn a lemon into Jack Lemonade is a foto alchemist. The rumors of Abe’s humor are true. He has the light touch of a jewel thief who can steal your face sans grief. He sees what others only notice, and in a flash ALACAZAM, it’s thank you ma’am.

How does he do it?

Frajndlich mesmerizes with chit-chat Distracts with catty gossip.
Slips them martinis,
Then stuffs them with blinis.
He shoots away until they say, “Uncle!” Are we through already? Can I go now?

The Cleveland Kid is haute couture not pret a porter. Each portrait is not so much a reproduction of the sitter’s face, but rather an expression of the subject vis-a-vis his poetry. Insight is Abe’s secret. Understanding, rather than mere observation, is what defines him as a photographer. To be Frajndlichized is to be immortalized.

And that is all I have to say.

abe frajndlich

Born May 28, 1946, Frankfurt a/M, Germany
Resides in New York City, NY

education

BA, Northwestern University, Evanston, Il. English Literature, 1968
MA, Northwestern University, Evanston, Il. English Literature, 1970
Three-year residency with Minor White, Chairman of MIT Department of Photography (1964-1976), Arlington Hts., Mass., 1970-71, 1975-76
Study and work with Nathan Lyons, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York, 1974-75

present position

Freelance art, magazine and commercial photographer. Has worked for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Life, ArtNews, London Sunday Times, London Observer, N. Y. Times Magazine and many others in the U.S. and Europe. His book, Penelope's Hungry Eyes: Portraits of Famous Photographers, was published by Schirmer/Mosel October 2011.

selected solo exhibitions

NordLightFestival Retrospective Exhibition planned for April 2012, Kristiansund, Norway, 65 photographs.
Natalia Laue Gallery, Frankfurt, Frankfurt/New York 45 Photos, 2009
Jewish Museum, Frankfurt, Portraits, 101 Photos, 1970-2003
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, 2002
Reygers Gallery, Munich, 2002, 2001
GSI Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio, 2000
FotoForum International, Frankfurt, 1999
Infocus Gallery am Dom, Koln, Germany 1998
Museum Molkau, Leipzig, Germany, 1998
Fotogalerie Kulturamt Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany 1997
FotoForum Frankfurt, Germany, 1997
Leica Gallery, New York City, 1994
Thread Waxing Space, New York City, 1993
University of Delaware Museum of Art, 1993
Ludwig Museum, Koln, Germany, 1990
Dayton Art Institute, Experiencenter Gallery, Dayton, O., 1983
Zenith Gallery, Pittsburgh, Penn., 1983
Akron Museum of Art, Akron, Ohio, 1982
Bonfoey Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio, 1981
The Photography Place, Philadelphia, Penn., 1979
SohoPhoto Gallery, New York, N.Y., 1977
Musee Nicephore Niepce, Chalon-sur-Saone, France, 1977
Gallery of Photographic Arts, North Olmsted, Ohio, 1976
United States Senate, Washington, D.C., 1974

selected group exhibitions

American Portraits, InFocus Gallery, Koln, 15 photos, 2011
Akte/Nudes, Galerie Tammen, Berlin, 25 photos, 2010
-Fascination with the Body, Infocus Gallery, with Alvin Booth, 2007 22 photos
Eyes of Time, Galerie Tammen, Berlin, 35 photos, 2006
Gifts to the Nation, National Portrait Galllery, Wash.D.C., 2006, 4 photos
Esthetic of the Erotic IV, Leipzig Museum of Photography, 2005
Fifteen Years, Fifteen Photographers, inFocus Gallery, Koln, 2005
Photography from Private Collections, Foto, Forum International, Frankfurt, 2005
Exposed, Nudes of the 20th Century, Heilbronn Museum, with Weston, Brandt, Man Ray, Gibson, 2004, 2 photographs
Nudes, inFocus Gallery, Koln, 2004, 2 photos
Scapes: City & Land, Butler Institute of American Art, Trumbull, with Simona Frajndlich, 51 photographs
Before, During and After 9/11, Dead Horse Gallery, Lakewood, Ohio, 2002, 20 photos
Portrait of the Art World, A Century of ARTnews Photographs, starting at the New York Historical Society, NYC, and travelling to four venues through 2004, 3 photographs
Princeton Art Museum, Peter Bunnell Exhibition, 2002, 2 photographs
Art Bridge: New York-Cologne-New York, Edward Carter Gallery, NYC,'01 World Wildlife Fund Portfolio Exhibition, Der Hague, Helsinki, Frankfurt, Istanbul, 2000/2001, with 25 other international photographers
Documentation/Manipulation in 20th Century Photography, curated by David Ebitz, Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Fla., 1999, 20 photographs.
Photographic Portraits of Artists since 1945, curated by Michael Kohler, Museum Bad Arolsen, 1999
Stadtmuseum Hofheim am Taunus, March 1999-May 2000 eight portraits of Cindy Sherman, four portraits of Gilbert&George
Master Photographs from the Permanent Collection, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996, 1 photograph + inclusive catalogue, 15 photographs Leica Gallery, Two Person with Ralph Gibson, 96
Thinking Print, Books to Billboards, 1980-95
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1996, Large group show, 9 photos as part of a Portfolio 500 Capp St. with David Ireland, text by John Ashberry
The Essential Art: 140 Years of American Photography from the Ansel Adams and Virginia Adams Collection
University of Arizona, Center for Creative Photography traveling show, 1992, 1 photo
Les Conserves de Nicephore, exhibition and catalog of permanent collection of Musee Nicephore Niepce, Chalon-sur- Saone, France, 10 photographs, 1992
May Show, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 1992, 1989, 1988, 1986, 1982, 1981, 1979, 1977, 1974, 1973
Inside Self someone else, Dayton Art Institute, with Eleanor Antin, Robert Arneson, Luis Azaceta, Jay Bolotin, Lynn Hershman, William Wiley, 1984
PhotoCollect, New York City, Two Person with Minor White, 1983
Second Sight--Infra Red Survey, Carpenter Center, Harvard University, 1981, Show traveled in U.S. & Europe through 1984
Personae, Mather Gallery, Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, Ohio, 1980 Summer Show, Daniel Wolf, New York, N.Y., 1980
Fotogalerij Paule Pia, Antwerp, Belgium, Two-person exhibit with Andre Kertesz, 1978
Focus Gallery, San Francisco, Two-person exhibit, 1978
New Gallery of Contemporary Art
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Mass., 1976
Gallery of Photographic Arts, North Olmsted, Ohio, Two-person exhibit with Ansel Adams, 1977
G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Beverly Hills, Cal., 1976
MIT, Cambridge, Mass., Two-person exhibit, 1976
Celebrations, MIT, Cambridge, Mass., 1974
Children: 1843-1973, Exchange National Bank, Chicago, 1973

selected collections

Akron Museum of Art, Akron, Ohio
Biblioteque Nationale, Paris, France
Butler Institute American Art, Youngstown, O.
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio
George Eastman House, Rochester, New York
Jewish Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
Ludwig Museum, Koln, Germany
M.I.T. Cambridge, Mass.
Musee Nicephore Niepce, International
Museum of Photography, Chalon-sur-Saone.
Museum of Modern Art, New York City
Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, Cal.
National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
New Mexico Museum Fine Arts, SantaFe, NM
George Pompidou Centre, Paris, France
Princeton Art Museum, Princeton, N.J.
John and Mabel Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, Cal.
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida
University of Arizona, Tempe, Center of Creative Photography
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York
Whitney Museum of Art, NYC

selected corporate & private collections

Bank One, Chicago, Illinois
Tom & Katherine Ball, Cleveland
Baker & Hostetler, Cleveland
Fred & Laura Bidwell, Peninsula Ohio
Peter Bunnell, Princeton, N.J.
AGA Burdox, Stockholm, Sweden
Nancy Dickenson, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Harry Drake, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Milton Esterow, New York City
Eikoh Hosoe, Tokyo
Huntington Bank, Columbus, Ohio
Bill Jacklin, New York City and Newport, R.I.
Kopperman & Wolf, Cleveland
Peter Lewis, New York City, Aspen and Cleveland
Toby Devan Lewis, Aspen, Cleveland and New York City
Gilbert Lloyd, London
Herbert Locher, Shanghai & Koln
McKinsey & Company, Cleveland
Nuveen Investments, Minneapolis, Minnesota Ohio Savings, Cleveland
Francine & Benson Piloff, Cleveland & Raleigh, N. Carolina
Hans-Georg Pospischil, Frankfurt, Germany
Progressive Corp., Cleveland, Ohio and Albany, NY
James Rosenquist, New York City
Don Sanders, Houston, Texas
Shearman & Sterling, Frankfurt, Germany
Lothar Schirmer, Mun sich
Target Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jurgen Tesch, Berlin and Munich
Garner Tullis, New York City
Standard Oil Corp., Cleveland
Cindy Sherman, New York City

monographs

Abe Frajndlich Portraits, Prestel Publishing, Munich, London, New York, 2000, 83 photos
Eros Eterna, Unschau Braus, Heideberg, Germany, 1999, 115 photos
Masters of Light, Catalog to exhibition, Museum Ludwig,1990, 54 photos
Lives I've Never Lived: A Portrait of Minor White, Arc Press, Cleveland, Ohio, 1983, 83 photographs
Cleveland Infra Red, Publix Imprints, Cleveland, Ohio, 1981, 83 photos
Figments, Self-published, Boston, 1975, 59 photographs

portfolios

500 CAPP, Collaboration with David Ireland, John Ashberry, and Gunner Kaldewey, Kaldewey Press, Edition 46, 1995
Glove, Collaboration with painter, Chris Pekoc, 12 photographs, ARC Press, Edition 50, 1982
Homage to Yukio Mishima, Introduction by Eikoh Hosoe, 12 photographs, ARC Press, Edition 35, 1980
Entropic Freeze, Introductory quote from Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts, ARC Press, Edition 35, 1980
Cleveland Infra Red, Introduction by Peter Lewis, 12 photographs, ARC Press, Edition of 60, 1980
Lives I've Never Lived: A Portrait of Minor White, Intro by Douglas Neil Prudden, 12 photos, Cleveland, Ohio, Edition 50, 1979
Private Figments, Intro by D. N. Prudden,12 photos, Boston, Mass., edition of 25, 1975.

book projects--2006-2011

Penelope's Hungry Eyes:Portraits of Famous Photographers, 2006-2011
Site Specific Investigations of a Glove 2006
timepasttimepresentfototime, 2007
50 Self Portraits, 2007
Looking for Marilyn and Elvis, 2008
Lust Redux, 2008
Transit, (bridges of N.Y.C), 2009
Lush Bush, (tree project), 2009
Butoh Muse, 2011
MX, 2011
FilmNews, 2011
Before, During and After 9/11