WIlliam Frucht’s photograph from Coney Island combines rigor and humor to make for an engrossing image. On the rigorous side, there’s the strict geometry of the workout equipment, the thin band of ocean separating tan sand from slate sky. On the humorous side, there’s something entertaining about the poses; they’re exercising, but they’re also like kids on playground equipment. More generally, there’s the juxtaposition of the handful of people working out with the multitudes in the background lounging in the sun. For every person working to get their heart rate up, there are 10 more who maybe think they’re trying too hard.
The image is part of“Family Act,” running at City Gallery on Upper State Street through Feb. 25. It features works by gallery member William Frucht, his sisters Sara Frucht and Martha Rives, and his wife, Candace Ovesey. The pieces in the show run from photography to painting, sculpture to digital art, mixed media to animated computer graphics, and from thoroughly representational to totally abstract. The portrait of the family that emerges is of members united by the fact of their artistic pursuits, but each of them following their own creative paths.
