Erwin Pfrang: The Ghosts Ask
10 January – 22 February 2025
David Nolan Gallery
24 East 81 Street, New York
1980s-Italy and James Joyce serve chiefly among the inspirations behind Erwin Pfrang (b. 1951, Munich)'s strange and often grotesque compositions, which are the subject of a solo show of new work at David Nolan Gallery (24 East 81st Street, a block from the Met). Pfrang, who has work in the permanent collections of MoMA and more, has been exhibiting with David Nolan for over three decades. The new exhibition, The Ghosts Ask, presents unseen work from the past several years.
The exhibition's title work, Die Gespenster lassen bitten (The Ghosts Ask) (2022) is both deeply psychological and overtly sinister; within the rich textures and colors characteristic of Pfrang’s oil paintings, the viewer spots disembodied limbs and heads, rotting fish, rats, phalluses, the crucifixion of a young boy, and the two central figures who appear to be controlled by older, godlike figures directly above them. There is a sense of fragility, suffering and existential unease in his imagery which evokes feelings of disorientation and alienation. The painting defies logic and even gravity, but with all his work, Pfrang rejects prescribed meaning and invites the viewer to "make of it what you wish."
More information is in the above-linked press release, and a preview of works on view is below. See the Dropbox folder linked above to download high-resolution image files. Artwork information is in each image’s file title. Image reuse must be credited as “courtesy of David Nolan Gallery and copyright of the artist”, unless otherwise noted in the file title.
