Play

Morán Morán is pleased to present PLAY, a group show that features new and historical works by Adam Alessi, John Baldessari, Claire Chambless, Elizabeth Jaeger, Nevine Mahmoud, Robert Mapplethorpe, Nihura Montiel, Raúl de Nieves, Lauren Quin, William Schaeuble, and Alake Shilling.

Play is a paradox. It is at once a frivolous activity and a profound psychological tool, a space of both unrestrained possibility and structured engagement. This exhibition explores the multifaceted nature of play: as a coping mechanism, as a framework for contemporary hyperreality, and as an essential element of human resilience. Indeed, the artworks in this exhibition highlight play’s therapeutic dimension, demonstrating how creative acts, performative gestures, and interactive experiences allow for a processing of inner and outer unrest. Here, play is positioned as an active process, one that enables artists and viewers alike to explore the complexities of contemporary life without the paralyzing weight of reality’s demands.

Yet, within this fluidity, there remains the potential for subversion. Play, after all, is also a site of rebellion, a way to resist imposed structures and reclaim autonomy. Artists have long used play as a means of disruption—whether through humor, absurdity, or the deliberate dismantling of established norms. The artworks here invite us to reconsider the power of play, not as a passive retreat but as an active force.

“Creative impulses are the stuff of playing. And on the basis of playing is built the whole of human’s experiential existence. No longer are we either introvert or extrovert. We experience life in the area of transitional phenomena, in the exciting interweave of subjectivity and objective observation, and in an area that is intermediate between the inner reality of the individual and the shared reality of the world that is external to individuals.”

– D.W. Winnicott, Playing & Reality, 1971

This exhibition, then, is not simply an exploration of play as a concept, but an invitation to experience it as a methodology that encourages a dynamic form of engagement—one that mirrors the essence of play itself. In doing so, it reaffirms Winnicott’s insight: play is not a luxury but a necessity, a means through which we navigate the chaos of our world and, perhaps, begin to imagine new ways forward.