Play
186 State Street Binghamton NY, 13901
tel. +1 607 772 0485 www.anthonybrunelli.com
A.J. Fries
Play
Artist Statement
This ongoing series started with simple portraits of the toys I remembered from childhood, evoking the nostalgia and celebrating the simplistic brilliance of their design. Well-loved and enthusiastically played with, these portraits remind the viewer of the world they left behind when they grew up. From there, I erected slightly more complex arrangements, grouping them as a child would set them up. In this manner, I used the toys to replicate a child observing the world around them, seeing and hearing events unfold and, in their developing mind, reenacting these moments. What transpired where groupings that depicted social and political issues; going further, paintings that confronted subjects in troubling and horrific situations yet still mimicking the various ways children play.
These toys became stand in observers and active participants in the current events that plague our humanity. I made a point not to add any props or change their facial expressions from the blank vacuous smiles as they confront the uncomfortable trauma of the grouping they are placed in. In this way, the viewer is left to see the paintings, which I entitled simply as “The Incidents,” initially as a childlike set up mimicking their juvenile version of real-world events. Later, as the viewer looks deeper, they see the stark reality these toys have created. “The Incidents” do not aim to instill any meaning other than what the viewers past experience and circumstances have brought to their interpretation. Where a young child might see a toy flying off a building, a mature viewer will recognize the pain of suicide. By not altering the toys or adding anything to the scene, these toys reenact the pain of growing older and recognizing the world we live in.
Play not only celebrates the toys of our childhood but pairs those feelings of nostalgia within a deeper context. The viewer experiences the fondness and forgotten memories these objects once held and simultaneously face the complex constructs these images represent. This ongoing series creates a play between what was familiar, joyful, and innocent from our childhood with the challenging social commentaries that come with adulthood and maturity. I paint the forgotten memories and etch them into the constructs we are challenged with today.
Underpainting of The Incident #1
THE INCIDENT SERIES
The Incident #1 oil on canvas 8
48 x 60 in.
The Incident #2 oil on canvas 10
60 x 48 in.
The Incident #3 oil on canvas 12
48 x 60 in.
14 Underpainting of Love is Love #2
LOVE IS LOVE SERIES
Love is Love #1 oil on canvas 16
24 x 24 in.
Love is Love #2 oil on canvas 18
24 x 24 in.
Love is Love #3 oil on canvas 20
24 x 24 in.
Underpainting of Double Dog
MORE PAINTINGS
Double Dog oil on canvas 24
24 x 30 in.
The Gathering oil on canvas 26
36 x 36 in.
Road Trip oil on canvas 28
36 x 36 in.
Fire Chief oil on canvas 30
18 x 20 in.
Pilot oil on canvas 32
30 x 24 in.
Little Sailor oil on canvas 34
24 x 30 in.
First Ride oil on canvas 36
12 x 16 in.
Flight Crew oil on canvas 38
9 x 12 in.
Just Friends oil on canvas 40
8 x 8 in.
Battleship oil on canvas 42
24 x 30 in.
Collect $200 oil on canvas 44
24 x 30 in.
Hot Wheels Red Line Stack oil on canvas 46
24 x 30 in.
Chevy 57 Stack oil on canvas 48
24 x 30 in.
Spoiler Sport Stack oil on canvas 50
12 x 12 in.
Poison Pinto oil on canvas 52
8 x 7.75 in
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GRAPHITE DRAWINGS
Construction Worker graphite on paper 56
5 x 4.5 in
Clown graphite on paper 58
7 x 5.5 in.
Oscar the Grouch graphite on paper 60
7 x 4.75 in.
Big Bird graphite on paper 62
7 x 4.75
Biography
Photo Credit David Moog
A.J. Fries is a painter who was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. A graduate of the State University of New York College at Buffalo, he has been called “unquestionably one of WNY’s most serious, developed, and dedicated artists” by Scott Propeack, associate director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Fries has exhibited in Buffalo at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo Arts Studio, Hallwalls, and Big Orbit Gallery, among others. His work is included in many public and private collections, including those of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Burchfield Penney. In 2001 he was awarded a 3-month residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York, and in 2007 he received a full fellowship for a month-long residency at the Vermont Studio Center. He is a founding member of Trans Empire Canal Corporation (TECC), a Buffalo-based collective responsible for the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s 2014 multi-year project “Cultural Commodities: As Exhibition in Four Phases,” informally referred to as the “art barge.” Fries was designated one of the Burchfield Penney’s first “Living Legacy” artists
Education
Group Shows
1995 Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, The State University College at Buffalo
2017 Group Show, Anthony Brunelli Gallery, Binghamton, NY The Corridors Gallery at Hotel Henry, Buffalo, NY Cool for the Summer, John Doe Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Solo Exhibitions 2018 Child’s Play, Meihbolm Gallery, East Aurora, NY 2016 Adapted Paintings, Bouwhuis Gallery Canisius College, Buffalo, NY 2015 Collective, Garret Club, Buffalo, NY 2012 Light in Shadow, Big Orbit Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2009 Ignoring the Sirens, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY 2008 Current Work, The Buffalo Club, Buffalo, NY 2007 Recent Work, Nichols School Flickenger Arts Center, Buffalo, NY 2005 New Works, The Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY 2003 Living the Fantasy, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY 2001 Play With Me, Big Orbit Soundlab, Buffalo, NY
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Love Sick, Revolution Gallery, Buffalo NY 2016 Echo Art Fair, Highline Loft, New York, NY 2015 58th Exhibition, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua, NY 2014 Faux Show, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY Black and White Biennial, Exhibit A Gallery, Corning, NY 2012 Bound Requiem, LastRites Gallery, New York, NY Hydro-Graphic, Burchfield Penney Art Center, NY Figment, Studio Hart, Buffalo, NY 2010 The Point Show, Sweet Lorraine Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2007 Beyond/In Western New York , Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Grants, Residencies, Workshops 2009 NYFA MARK Program 2007 Vermont Studio Center – Full Fellowship for Four-Week Residency 2003 Arts Council of Erie County Special Opportunity Stipend Grant 2001 International Studio & Curatorial Program – Full Fellowship 2000 NYSCA County Initiative Program Individual Artist Grant
Gallery : 186 State Street Binghamton NY, 13901 tel. +1 607 772 0485 www.anthonybrunelli.com
Cover: The Gathering (detail)
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