Torben Ulrich (born Oct. 4, 1928) Today, using primarily skipping I first became aware of Torben especially interested in has been called one the most colorful rope and tennis net, racquet and ball, Ulrich in the Metallica documentary multi-disciplinarians and looking to and unique voices in Danish culture of Ulrich explores play and the athletic Some Kind of Monster. His Gandalfian match high concept with high craft. the 20th and 21st centuries, stemming event with ink and/or acrylic, presence had made him a breakout star Torben’s paintings are figurative from his lifelong activities as poet, predominantly on rice paper. In some among the band’s fans, and I made a abstracts, and therefore the epitome of musician, radio and newspaper earlier series, he often first skipped an mental note to learn more about him. A this gallery’s mission. There is an air of journalist, painter, filmmaker, inked rope onto the rice paper, which dozen years would pass before I came importance to his work because the performer and athlete, all attempting to was placed on the ground. When dry, into contact with Torben and his wife, paintings, which provide the salable explore these fields within a the paper was then posted or held Molly Martin, following a brief goods in his exhibitions, are a transdisciplinary approach. This view against a wall and an inked ball was conversation with author and archivist, byproduct of the actual art. Torben’s has long been grounded in a played (not placed), as a sign of Brian Lew, who advised me that I milieu is really performance: He uses process-oriented, wide-ranging study ongoing playfulness. Later, a text should contact them via the painting as a medium in which to of movement in spiritual, philosophical might have been added. In the most Balligraphies website. capture motion. He is a philosopher of and athletic traditions, accentuating the recent series, a text was often the first After years as the director of La Luz movement, with music being an practical while including the historical step, followed by a served or stroked de Jesus Gallery, I opened Gallery 30 integral component of his expression, aspects of alchemy, dance, yogic net, then rope, then ball. South with my wife, Ai, to showcase and so one might say that Torben studies, Buddhism, Christian and the kinds of work that I couldn’t show Ulrich is a philosopher, a musician, an Jewish Kabbalah, Sufism, Taoism, etc. at La Luz. The former gallery’s athlete and a painter, in that order. He Torben’s work with ball, rope, www.torbenulrich.com requirement that work be figurative just also happens to be a genius and my racquet and rice paper has its www.balligraphies.net and narrative allowed for a wide range friend, and it is with great pleasure that beginnings in 1971, when the Lions of styles and genres, but not for we host this exhibition, which is the Club of Copenhagen asked a variety of abstract expressionism, minimalism, first retrospective of his work in politicians, actors, writers and others to performance or installation art. Our Southern California. make “a blue elephant” for a charity new endeavor allowed a freedom to exhibit to benefit a senior center in exhibit whatever we liked, and it — Matt Kennedy Denmark. Ulrich suggested on his part became our mission to showcase artists gallery30south.com another kind of elephant: the idea of who might help bridge the gap between play. figurative and abstract work. I was mappings, foldings, fi elds: textual interplay*

outcome still preceding in ink play and and letting balance, paper: play refolding breathing, prehensive show play plane, the way being refi guring of genesis play of play: stroke cutting and through ball outcome, and o releasing then, of play the cosmology zero, of peaceful play point of articles play of paint, particles of play

dialogue of lines, diagrams of and playing play also, with seeing the politics through of the ball play

marks of play, layering lines, levels re-marks on being of play

skipping score, scattering implications pieces of of collisions bohr, play of explications parts, of connectives bohm in play

fabric of between elements, yes energies and of no: play still infi nite simmering play pulses, prisms fi gures untiming lines of of ball, of untaming play speech, and fl ight, moment physics again, fl ows of the question of space of play timing

*Textual interplay: Red dots indicate fi rst series, black dots second series.