Rachel Hellmann: State of Play

Sept 14 - Nov 13, 2016

Elizabeth Houston Gallery, 190 Orchard St, NY, NY

This body of work is inspired by play and curiosity. I look toward games and activities from my childhood - such as Simon, Lite Brite, the Rubix cube, jump rope and hopscotch - for inspiration. Games can be repetitive in nature, full of logic and problem solving and often involve movement, which are all aspects of my working process. The sculptures are painted on all sides and encourage the viewer to bend and move their body to see above and below the piece. This movement becomes an aspect of the artwork- connecting the object and viewer in a direct way much as a game recognizes its fullest potential once played.

Simon Says

2016 45" x 38" x 7" ( 114 cm × 97 cm × 18 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Simon Says

2016 45" x 38" x 7" ( 114 cm × 97 cm × 18 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Cat's Cradle

2016 40" x 30" x 6" ( 102 cm × 76 cm × 15 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Cat's Cradle

2016 40" x 30" x 6" ( 102 cm × 76 cm × 15 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Fruit Punch

2016 45" x 26" x 9" ( 114 cm × 66 cm × 23 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Fruit Punch

2016 45" x 26" x 9" ( 114 cm × 66 cm × 23 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Firefly

2016 23" x 19" x 3" ( 58 cm × 48 cm × 8 cm ) Acrylic on wood

It Takes Two

2016 20" x 17" x 3" ( 51 cm × 43 cm × 8 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Glide

2016 24" x 20" x 4" ( 61 cm × 51 cm × 10 cm ) Acrylic on wood

I Spy

2016 25" x 20" x 3" ( 64 cm × 51 cm × 8 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Double Dutch

2016 20" x 21" x 4" ( 51 cm × 53 cm × 10 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Double Dutch - angle

2016 20" x 21" x 4" ( 51 cm × 53 cm × 10 cm ) Acrylic on wood

Hole in the Sky

2016 22" x 19" x 3" ( 56 cm × 48 cm × 8 cm ) Acrylic on wood