Playing, Abelardo Morell

Abelardo Morell: Playing presents a selection of old and recent works
by the Havana-born photographer, and former resident of the Upper
West Side, Abelardo Morell. The exhibition celebrates the artist’s
magical explorations of the film camera, which he has used to
observe, and enliven, primary materials and scenes of everyday life.
Many of Morell’s photographs, including those in Playing, were
created within the confined space of the artists’ home: a dreamlike
interior, where his personal and creative lives collide. The exhibition
includes early black-and-white images, produced in the late ’80s and
early ’90s, when the artist had recently become a father. While caring
for his two children, Morell’s images were imbued with intimacy and
emotion, marking a pivotal shift in the artist’s perception. The artist
began positioning his camera on the ground, and looking closely at
rooms and objects through the vantage points of his children. Blocks
of toys hovered suddenly like a tower, an open dictionary shapeshifted
into an undulating wave. Continuing in this spirit, Morell’s later works
energize the classical genre of the still life. By experimenting with
camera exposure times, and with light, motion, color, and scale, Morell
envisions—and records—emergent realities. In the artist’s eye,
materials such as books, money, vessels, and wooden blocks,
become objects of enchantment and play.