Johnny Friedlander

Johnny Friedlaender (1912–1992) was a prominent German-French artist known for his mastery of aquatint etching, a technically challenging process in which he was a pioneer. Although he worked with oils and watercolors, etching was his preferred medium. His works were exhibited globally, including in Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States. He received several accolades, such as the Biennial Kakamura Prize in Tokyo in 1957 and a teaching post at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro in 1959. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Friedlaender was traveling internationally, holding exhibitions in cities like New York, Bern, Milan, and Paris. From his Paris atelier, Friedlaender mentored numerous artists, including Arthur Luiz Piza, Brigitte Coudrain, Rene Carcan, Andreas Nottebohm, and Graciela Rodo Boulanger, who became notable in lithography and etching. His work continued to be celebrated in later years, with retrospectives at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1978 and the Bremen Art Museum on his 75th birthday. On his 80th birthday, a retrospective exhibition was held in Bonn, Germany. Friedlaender passed away in Paris at the age of 80.