Spiritofboz

Julien Friedler - Who is Jack Balance ?

The Christopher Henry Gallery is pleased to present its first solo exhibition of Julien Friedler curated by
Gabrielle Bryers entitled "Who is Jack Balance?".
 
Covering two floors the exhibition is an introduction to Jack Balance and the World of Boz.  A Dante’s
Inferno like quest through the art world, Friedler takes the viewer on an adventure through a parallel
universe of life’s unanswered questions expressed through writing, painting, sculptures, happenings and
conceptual projects. As uncertainty grips the current world mindset the artist endeavors to discover and
interpret this unbalanced world as modern allegories. There is a spirituality in the imperfect world of
Friedler: he helps us to see, understand, and accept the inescapable imperfection that is the human
condition. 

Jack Balance is the main character in Friedler’s world, BOOK OF BOZ, a 700 page epic that forms
the core of his entire artwork. The character continually suffers at the hands of his creator – born deaf and
dumb in a match box, he lives in a cage, able to express himself only by whistling or writing on boards. He
is granted speech once a year on his birthday. A metaphysical personage, Jack Balance originally desires
to become human; frequent encounters, however, have him wishing to remain a fictional character.

The works in the exhibition depict the various exploits of Jack Balance while exploring a diverse
range of communication mediums in the visual arts.  On the first floor of the gallery are 30 original Comic
Strip illustrations –bright, childishly optimistic pages which introduce the viewer to the BOOK OF BOZ.  In
the center of the gallery stands Mappemonde, an exquisite Murano glass sculpture staging the 3 main
characters of the book, its delicate elements symbolizing the fragility of life.  The second floor reveals the
background of Jack Balance: a sculptural likeness is surrounded by a projection providing an insight into the
world of BOZ, accompanied by a unique series of photographs depicting the Lives and Deaths of Jack
Balance.

Julien Friedler lives and work between Brussels and Monaco.  Friedler started his career as a
psychoanalyst and author.  In 1997 he set out to communicate his philosophies in visual form. His work has
been shown throughout the world and at such institutions as Mudima Foundation in Milan, Italy; it will be
exhibited at MUBE, Sao Paulo, Brazil in October 2009 as well as the National Gallery for Foreign Art, Sofia,
Bulgaria in May 2009.

Fom April 17 to May 25, 2009

Christopher Henry Gallery
127 Elizabeth Street
NEW YORK, NY 10013

www.christopherhenrygallery.com

Related :

> Jack Balance (an introduction)

> 2009 program of Julien Friedler’s exhibitions

> The Jack Balance Facebook group

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Jack Balance's Avatars, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.