if I ran the circus

Entrance is pleased to present _if I ran the circus_, the first outdoor solo exhibition by American conceptual artist Tom Friedman, featuring new and previously unseen work, primarily focused on Friedman's large-scale sculpture practice, including a number of his acclaimed works produced from crushed aluminum foil maquettes. The exhibition also features a multi-channel video projection on view in the sculpture garden gallery. Friedman's use of quotidian materials traces back to the earliest stages of his career; since the late 1980s, he has transformed everyday objects into works which defy classification. On view in _if I ran the circus_ are the works _sign for road to utopia_, 2026, and _come and get it_, 2026, which both make use of the most commonplace materials—road signs and cookware—alienated from their original function and reactivated in unexpected manners. Cooking pots are turned anthropomorphic and guiding signs twist and turn into each other becoming a labyrinth of color—no longer didactical and now leading to nowhere. Similarly, the sculpture _Peeing Figure (fountain)_, 2012, is produced in stainless steel from an aluminum foil maquette, and functions as an exceedingly modern take on a Renaissance-era fountain using the casting process Friedman has become well known for. On view in the gallery, the wall mural work _it's always the beginning_, 2026, is produced simply from a paint-filled glass Christmas tree ornament thrown against the wall, however through Friedman's clever and obsessive material exploration, it begins to look like an infinite void in space or the dramatic death of a star in a supernova event; splattered paint is the end and beginning of everything, much like the seemingly simple Pong video game represents something much larger and less subject to control—the beginning of the digital age. Friedman's playful approach to artmaking is clearly exemplified by his sculptural work. _Tightrope Walker (clown)_, 2025, quietly towers above the show performing a circus balancing act. Below, the flying saucer sculpture in the act of an alien abduction, _UFO_, 2012–2026, illuminates the space with its surrealist glow. In the work _Sid_, 2007–2026, Friedman reconstructs an earlier work of his own, adapting it into his version of the Reclining Buddha. _if I ran the circus_ invites the viewer to imagine a new world where anything is possible. People are created from cookware, styrofoam, and steel, aliens have made contact in Red Hook, and Friedman's studio detritus is now an asteroid belt floating in the solar system. Life, death, creation, and destruction exist all at once in the circus of Friedman's creation. If the artist were omnipotent, what would society look like?