Photographed by: Adrian Wilson

An exhibition curated by Heskin Projects:
Elizabeth Heskin, Tracey Ravdin Perlmutter and Patricia Spergel

We titled this show PLAYLIST because each of the painters presented here incorporate into their work an element of playfulness, rhythm and experimentation within a theme. We are also alluding to the idea of making playlists on streaming musical platforms --the 21st century digital equivalent of making a mixed tape, albeit with more infinite possibilities. Music and art are intrinsically linked. To cite just two examples, Kandinsky wrote extensively about this connection in his 1912 treatise Concerning the Spiritual in Art and Mondrian’s masterpiece “Broadway Boogie-Woogie” was clearly influenced by jazz and the blues.  Listening to music in the studio is a way for an artist to connect to their innermost thoughts and to help tune out the world around them, and while there is not always a direct causal link between the music an artist listens to and the work they make, learning what they like does provide an added layer of understanding for the viewer.  We asked each painter to create a playlist of favorite music for this show and some teasers follow.

Emily Berger’s recent abstract paintings are filled with subtle and exquisite shifts of color, light and mark making. Bill Evans and J.S. Bach will be among her selections.  Steve DeFrank was shaped by the 1970s suburban landscape of New Haven, CT, where he found a connection with the chaotic world of Loony Tunes.  One of the songs for his playlist is: “Lonely Little G-String, How to Strip for Your Lover” by the Sonny Lester Orchestra.  There’s an overt connection between Erik den Breejen’s paintings and the vast record collection he owns.  He incorporates song lyrics and poetry directly onto the canvas and his top choice for his compilation is “Five Years,” by David Bowie.  Jenifer Kobylarz’s work explores abstraction and repetition through paintings, ceramics and works on paper.  Her playlist will include John Coltrane, and in particular:  “Love Supreme, Part 1- Acknowledgment.”

About the Artists:

Emily Berger lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. A graduate of  Brown University, she received an MFA from Columbia University, attended the Skowhegan School in Maine and has won several residency fellowships, including Millay Arts. Her work has been exhibited widely, is included in many public and private collections and has been reviewed in publications such as The Hudson Review, The Brooklyn Rail, Two Coats of Paint, Hyperallergic, and The Boston Globe.  Recent solo exhibitions include:  TenBerke Architects, Walter Wickiser Gallery, Norte Maar, Scholes Street Studio, and The Painting Center, all in NYC. Berger has also been included in: On Balance, curated by Mary Birmingham at Art Cake, Sight/Unseen, curated by Hanne Tierney, SONIC at Metaphor Gallery, Form and Intent at Abstract Project in Paris, Syncopation at Odetta Gallery, Salon Zurcher, 11 Women of Spirit at Zurcher Gallery, and Side to Side, Three Ways at Key Projects. She is a member of American Abstract Artists.

Erik den Breejen lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He received his MFA from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY and his BFA from California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA. His paintings have been exhibited at galleries including Miles McEnery, Turn, and Freight + Volume in NYC and Mindy Solomon in Miami. Den Breejen’s large-scale public works include commissions for SoFi Stadium and YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles, CA and for Atlantic Records, Public Art for Public Schools, PayPal, and Rag and Bone in New York. He is a 2018 MacDowell Fellow, a 2015 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Painting, and a three- time recipient of the DNA Artists Residency in Provincetown, MA. His work has been featured in numerous publications including: The New York Times, Artnews, Hyperallergic, Artnet, Art Maze, Maake and Whitehot.  

Steve DeFrank lives and works in The Bronx, NY. He is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and the School of Visual Arts. As a Fulbright scholar in Mexico City, he ventured beyond the canvas, immersing himself in luchador training. This unexpected research revealed a connection between Mexican wrestling and his artistic endeavors, merging the high and the low. DeFrank's solo exhibitions include: School of Visual Arts Flat Iron Project Space, NYC, Townsend Gallery in Watermill, NY and Charles Moffett Gallery, NYC. His work has been included in group shows at prestigious institutions such as the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oaxaca. His awards include the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant, as well as the Willard L. Metcalf Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Public collections include: the New Museum of Contemporary Art, SEI/West Family Collection, and the Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University. 

Jenifer Kobylarz received her BFA from SUNY Purchase and lives and works in Brooklyn. She has exhibited in one-person shows at Edward Thorp Gallery, NY, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM, Galerie Elisabeth Mitisch, Vienna, Austria, 420 Atlantic, Brooklyn, NY and the Galerie Panza Verde in Antique, Guatemala. Her numerous group shows include: Lennon Weinberg Gallery, NY, DC Moore Gallery, NY and Eugene Binder Gallery, Marfa, TX. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Artforum, Art News and The New York Observer. In addition, she was commissioned for British Airways “Utopia” project and her paintings were translated onto plane tails. Public collections include: NYU Langone Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Goldman Sachs, Swiss Bank and Alliance Insurance.