The Founders
We are Nicola E. Petek and Nora Vogel, the two founders of FRIDAY BIRD. We met while studying art history in Freiburg im Breisgau. We then moved to Berlin to study for a Master's degree and initially went our own ways professionally. Nicola made a name for herself as a freelance curator, collection consultant and writer. She works with renowned galleries, institutions and artists worldwide, including in England, China, and the US. Nora has worked as a freelance editor and led international projects and campaigns as a communications manager at the BMW Foundation. With the experience we gained and the enthusiasm for our idea, we founded FRIDAY BIRD together in 2024 as an (online) gallery for original prints. The name is a combination of our surnames: “Petek” (Slovenian) = “Friday” and “Vogel” = “Bird”
The Artists
Each of our artworks is personally selected by us. We look for works that embody poetry and timelessness. They bear witness to artistic expression and technical skill. In some cases, we work directly with the artists and are closely involved in the production process. Other works are sourced from the artists' studios or from galleries. We want to offer a platform to up-and-coming artists as well as present established positions.
The Magic of Printmaking
We have fallen in love with printmaking because it is an extremely diverse and exciting art form - even if it is often overshadowed by other forms such as painting or sculpture. Techniques such as woodcut, etching or lithography offer artists a fascinating variety of creative possibilities. The fact that the image is not created directly, but through the printing of plates or stencils, gives the works an unmistakable character. At the same time, these techniques require special knowledge and skills. This is why the artists work closely with the printer throughout the entire process.
The resulting prints are not posters or high-quality reproductions of existing artworks. They are artistic works in their own right, equal in value with other works by the artist. At the same time, the production in limited editions makes the art accessible – and affordable – to a wider audience. In many eras, from the Renaissance to modernism, printmaking has contributed to the dissemination of artistic innovation. Despite the emergence of digital printing techniques, the manual methods of printmaking have not lost their importance to this day.