Several years after working in an architectural office as a model builder among other tasks, Alex became interested in weaving and signed up for classes at the YWCA. This led to a job weaving in a workshop with Michele Lester in New York on a commission making shaped tapestries for a fleet of Pan Am jumbo jets. From that point on, Alex Friedman has maintained a studio for over 30 years wherever she has lived, Connecticut, London, England and now the Bay Area, California.
Largely self taught in this age old tradition, she has continued to learn by taking workshops with many highly regarded weavers who have trained in several different European traditions.
Her earliest interests were in the architectural aspects of the medium; the structural imagery and particularly the way that light plays across the surface both illusory and in reality. More recently, Alex is exploring both the potential illusion and the constructive aspects of tapestry in a way that preserves the idea of 'textile' rather than a more traditional image based narrative subject. She is known for the striking designs and rich colors of her tapestries. She has executed many commissions and exhibited widely. One of the highlights of her long career was winning a fellowship from the New England Foundation of the Arts.
As tapestry is not as well known as a contemporary art form, Alex has been very active with local and national tapestry organizations boards. She recently completed a four year term as the President and Co-Director of the
American Tapestry Alliance, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting tapestry. She is active in volunteering for the Tapestry Weavers West and Baulines Craft Guild.
She is passionate about tapestry and believes that the serene aspects of a woven tapestry has the power to bring peace and harmony into any space.
