Sara Tecchia Roma New York is proud to present FAR FROM EQUILIBRIUM, a solo exhibition that marks the New York debut of Germany-based, New York-born artist David Fried.

In our everyday life, the word “equilibrium” evokes a sense of functioning harmony or balance – a cool shower tempering a hot summer day, for instance. Only a state that is far from equilibrium, however, fosters the self-reflection and reassessment necessary for creative growth, development and life as we know or guess it.

Such dynamic relationships operating “far from equilibrium” are the common ground for Fried’s art. Weaned on Abstract Expressionism and improvisational music, his inspiration is found in all that is unpredictable. His exploration into the inherent qualities of networked systems intrinsic to nature and social endeavors are merged into highly symbolic works, which deconstruct simplistic views of a mechanical universe into interdependent systems more relevant to contemporary society.

His sculptural, photographic, and interactive works employ motifs that are universally recognizable as organic or pertaining to natural phenomena, yet appear influenced by man. He fuses minimalism and conceptual art with aesthetics and philosophy to create works that transcend art-isms and scientific dogmas of our socio-technological times.

His hand-crafted “SELF ORGANIZING STILL LIFE” objects consist of interactive, sound-activated spheres, which “dance” in real-time in response to ambient sound, visualizing the live acoustics in a spontaneous and elegantly fluid choreography before one’s eyes. When sound is no longer detected, the spheres come to rest, playing still-life.

No two spheres are alike – each is composed of either solid stone or synthetic polymers layered with organic materials such as marble dust and rare earth. This infuses them with a unique ability to store energy and interact with each other in inimitable and unexpected ways, on an elemental level rather than a technological one. Fried is therefore able to give each sphere an individual personality, allowing them to respond differently to sound, as people would dance differently to the same tune. More fascinating than the motions of any one sphere are the dynamic relationships that unfold between them all.

With his series of color photograms titled “IN BED WITH LUCY AND DOLLY,” Fried uses photo-sensitive film and flashes of light to capture the shadows of fleeting bubble formations – no camera or lens is used. What we see in his enlarged chromogenic prints are the latent shadows and spectral aberrations of these transparent forms. In varying chromatic tones, Fried depicts these studies of shadow and light in a manner that evokes a strong resemblance to primordial living cells as well as engineered test-tube creations.

The title refers to Lucy (the early hominid “Mother”), to us (the “Myth-makers”), and to Dolly the sheep (the first successful cloning of a live animal, or the man-made “Missing Link”), highlighting man’s progression from merely controlling our existing environment, to engineering life-forms, to indulging in the inescapable urge to invent our predecessors. Fried reminds us of just how strong yet corruptible the architecture of life is, while taking us on a biomorphic journey from the Cambrian sea to the technological womb.

Fried’s work can be found in the permanent collections of Volksbank HQ, Mönchengladbach, Germany; Kunst Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, Germany; and the Stadt Museum Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Additionally, he has been shown alongside that of Horn, Rauschenberg and Calder in the traveling exhibition. “Drehen, Kreisen, Rotieren” and he was also recently included “Genesis—The Art of Creation,” alongside Duchamp, Beuys, Francis and others at the Zentrum Paul Klee.