Hank Ehrenfried
Artist Exchange, Exhibiting Artist
Hank Ehrenfried’s (b. 1992) paintings feature a wide and expanding field of subjects. Some are reproductions of photographs of his partner, others land- or seascapes, others renderings of collages he constructs from the colored papers, family photos, and catalogues that have accumulated over the years in his studio. These are sentimental materials for Ehrenfried, both as he (re-)discovers them and in their evolving (re-)arrangement. Their poignancy, urgency, and significance are particularly set off by the anxiety and inertia that surrounded their composition. The rapid onset and acceleration of these seemingly unavoidable feelings, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, produced distortions in perspective and color, as well as the decisions surrounding the physical positioning, realignment, and folding of these materials as they were pinned to his studio wall. For the realization that these rediscovered materials have an uncertain future is worrying. And yet, to see these images, despite their transience, maintain some order, some logic that carries on, and that can link these fragment to one another, can be as reassuring as it is heartbreaking. Things do continue. No matter the rage, indifference, or violence they are subjected to, something happens next.
Ehrenfried holds a BFA in Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute. He has exhibited at Fredericks & Freiser Gallery, Quappi Projects (Louisville, KY), Danese Corey Gallery, AuxierKline Gallery, Public Swim Gallery, Tuesday Gallery (Richmond, VA), and Welcome Gallery (Charlottesville, VA), among others.
He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Bio courtesy of the artist.
