The work of photographer and visual artist Emily Grunfeld will be on display for one evening only. Exploring the complexity of the human condition through a variety of techniques, Grunfeld’s work navigates diverse subjects with a consistent passion for texture, form and abstraction. Half of the proceeds from all sales will benefit Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.
• “Reckless Bloom”:
Inspired by the poetry of Rilke (“Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.”), “Reckless Bloom” explores the capacity of flowers to both bloom and rot, to feed and poison, and the beauty found in both processes. The natural world can serve as a proxy for both growth and mortality. Within this series, Grunfeld uses shrieking colors and dizzying abstractions to depict this elemental journey. Through concrete or rich salted earth, to recklessly bloom is a beautiful thing.
“Subterraneans”
Subterraneans is a mixed media exploration of texture and form. Grunfeld’s experimental practice utilizes various mediums including gel transfer, collage, Sharpies, charcoal, hand-toning and photographic processes. The title of each piece represent a different state of the human experience, from Peace to Noise to Fragility. As the layers of texture obscure and reveal, the viewer is invited to explore the complexity of the human condition.
• “Lucid Rage”
Lucid Rage is a depiction of city spaces, and the ways in which communities operate within systems of power. By combining visuals of protests with images of city structures, Grunfeld urges the viewers to see rallies not as separate historical events, but rather, as part of a larger dialogue between the people and the city itself. Beyond aestheticized struggle, the work aims to connect the structures of hyper policing and state violence with the everyday structures of power. Underneath the looming dominance of skyscrapers and prisons, there is a Lucid Rage brewing.
