The Art Scene: 02.07.12

Mostly Abstract at Ashawagh

    Cynthia Sobel has organized “Mostly Abstract” at Ashawagh Hall in Springs this weekend. The show at the art space opens Saturday afternoon with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m. It will be up through Sunday afternoon.

    Included are paintings, drawings, and sculpture from Barbara Bilotta, Beth Barry, Phyllis Hammond, Jana Hayden, Stephanie Reit, Sheila Rotner, Ms. Sobel, and Mark Zimmerman.

More Women, New Show

    The Peter Marcelle Gallery in Bridgehampton will present “The Women, Part II” beginning Saturday with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Roisin Bateman, Marilyn Church, Asia Ingalls, Susan Lazarus-Reimen, Jane Martin, Kryn Olson, Nicole Parcher, Amy Pilkington, Barbara Press, Anne Seelbach, and Evan Zatti are some of the artists represented in a show devoted to the pursuit of abstraction.

    It will remain on view through March 3. The gallery’s winter hours are Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment.

New Dates for Marfa

    The LongHouse Reserve’s spring trip to Marfa, Tex., will take place May 9 through May 13. Marfa is the home of the Judd Foundation, dedicated to the art of Donald Judd. The Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum, presents exhibitions and installations both permanent and temporary. The town is an artists’ mecca, with many working studios and other events of interest.

    Reservations and more information are available on the LongHouse Web site.

Celebrating Diversity

    On Sunday, the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill will host an international cultural celebration to honor the talent and diversity of the East End from 1:30 to 4 p.m. The event will include traditional music and folk dances, art activities, and tours of the museum.

    Among the groups scheduled to perform are the Kildare Academy of Irish Dance, the Shinnecock Thunderbird Dancers, Showers of Blessings Choir, the Tewa Marimba Ensemble, and Danni Medina. The festival is free with museum admission.

Moves Like Pollock

    Musicians with an eye for the dynamic movement of Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings can now have a guitar or bass decorated with an image taken from the floor of his studio at the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs. Waterstone Musical Instruments, a Nashville firm, is making the guitars, which come with a hard-shell case and certificate of authenticity. The $1,500 price includes a donation to the Pollock-Krasner House.

Intimacy at Grenning

    Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor will exhibit “Intimate Works,” a show of interiors, still lifes, and self-portraits, beginning Saturday with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. The show’s opening has been planned to coincide with HarborFrost and will have live music.

    The participating painters are Marc Dalessio, Ben Fenske, Hege Elizabeth Haugen, Ramiro, Melissa Franklin Sanchez, and Lynn Sanguedolce. The show will remain on view through March.

    As part of HarborFrost, the gallery will take part in the art walk on Saturday, joining Monika Olko Gallery, Christy’s Art Center, the Hooke Sculpture Gallery, Richard J. Demato Fine Arts, Tulla Booth Gallery, and Romany Kramoris Gallery. The walk will conclude at the newly christened Sag Harbor Fine Arts Center.

New/Old Tonic Artspace

    Winter has worked its magic once again and transformed the Kathryn Markel Gallery in Bridgehampton into the Tonic Artspace for a limited run on weekends through February. On view will be the exhibition “Virgil Is Still the Frog Boy,” beginning Saturday with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. The show is based on a 40-year-old line of graffiti near the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike and a local legend.

    According to the show’s organizers, the legend was that the original graffiti, “Virgil Is the Frog Boy,” was based on an East Hampton teenager, who was given the name by his friends, “but his identity and the circumstances under which he earned the nickname remain a secret.” Years later, the same trestle was painted again to say, “Virgil Is Still the Frog Boy.” Who wrote the two sets of graffiti remains a mystery.

    The group show includes work by the artists Carly Haffner, Christine Lidrbauch, Grant Haffner, Scott Bluedorn, and Scott Gibbons.