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Spieltrieb

Polly Apfelbaum, Beverly Fishman, Ryan Mrozowski, Kathleen Ryan

January 5 – February 4, 2018

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Installation view of Spieltrieb

Untitled Beverly Fishman piece

Beverly Fishman

Untitled (a+b), 2016

Urethane paint on wood

38.5 x 38 x 2 inches

Untitled Beverly Fishman piece

Beverly Fishman

Untitled, 2017

Vinyl and paper on smooth acid free Bristol

17 x 14 inches

Beverly Fishman untitled piece

Beverly Fishman

Untitled, 2017

Vinyl and paper on smooth acid free Bristol

17 x 14 inches

Untitled Beverly Fishman piece

Beverly Fishman

Untitled (double pain), 2017

Urethane paint on wood

38.5 x 38 x 2 inches 

Beverly Fishman Untitled piece

Beverly Fishman

Untitled, 2017

Vinyl and paper on smooth acid free Bristol

17 x 14 inches

Individual shot of Ryan Mrozowski piece

Ryan Mrozowski

Untitled, 2018

Acrylic on linen

18 x 13 inches

Ceramics hanging from gallery ceiling

Polly Apfelbaum

Deep Brown Notes, 2017

Ceramics

Dimensions variable 

Individual shot of Ryan Mrozowski piece

Ryan Mrozowski

Untitled, 2018

Acrylic on linen

18 x 13 inches

Individual shot of Ryan Mrozowski piece

Ryan Mrozowski

Untitled, 2018

Acrylic on linen

18 x 13 inches

individual shot of Ryan Mrozowski piece

Ryan Mrozowski

Untitled, 2018

Acrylic on linen

18 x 13 inches

Kathleen Ryan sculpture

Kathleen Ryan

Silk Tie Back, 2018

Powder Coated steel chain, bowling balls, brass, plated lamp parts

Dimensions variable

Jack Hanley Gallery is excited to present Spieltrieb, a group exhibition featuring works by Polly Apfelbaum, Beverly Fishman, Ryan Mrozowski and Kathleen Ryan.

 

Spieltrieb is a German expression that can be translated as ‘play-drive’, the ‘urge to play’ or ‘play impulse’. In ‘On the Aesthetic Education of Man’ (1794) German poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller described Spieltrieb as the ideal union of Formtrieb (the form impulse) and Stofftrieb (the sense impulse). In his theory, the sense impulse equals life whereas the form impulse equates with shape and therefore denotes the object of Spieltrieb as the living shape which for him is synonymous with beauty. All works in the show combine these components, formal and sensuous, with a game element, a playfulness, inviting viewers to engage with their associations.

 

In Kathleen Ryan’s sculpture, unyielding materials undulate on the gallery’s floor, calling to mind a shiny beaded necklace comprised of chains connecting heavy bowling balls. The object’s past becomes visible through their owner’s engraved names and finger holes. In a play with levity and gravity, industrial materials and elegance, Ryan merges contrasts in formal sensuality. A similar play with opposites becomes evident in the works of Beverly Fishman. The titles of her wall reliefs ‘Untitled (a+b)’ and ‘Untitled (double/pain)’ reveal a formula to her seemingly sleek abstract compositions. Based on shapes and colors of prescription drugs and various medication like Prozac, Vicodin or Xanax, Fishman’s wall reliefs and works on paper suddenly possess a much darker quality that, despite and because of their bright colors, reference the current opioid addiction crisis.

 

Polly Apfelbaum’s installation of suspended terra-cotta shapes colored with textile spray is based on the American tradition of the seven-shape note system. The shape notes, a musical notation system developed in the beginning of the 19th century, has commonly been used in music schools to facilitate music notations through visual associations. Her accompanying wall-bound mount holding paint brushes with terra-cotta beads further convey the viewer’s synesthesia within an entanglement of sound, color and shapes.

 

Ryan Mrozowski sculptural paintings are comprised of individually shaped and stretched frames and canvases. The individual small stretched paintings within its wooden frame are configured like a puzzle replicating photographs taken of loosely tossed and folded textiles.