The Art Scene: 04.06.17

Wednesday Group at Ashawagh

“Welcome Spring,” an exhibition of work by members of the Wednesday Group, will be held at Ashawagh Hall in Springs on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 to 4. A reception will take place Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Wednesday Group consists of plein-air painters who set up their easels in the landscape at least one day a week, weather permitting. The show will include work by Anna Franklin, Jean Mahoney, Deb Palmer, Alyce Peifer, Gene Samuelson, Christine Chew Smith, Cynthia Sobel, Frank Sofo, Bob Sullivan, Aurelio Torres, and Dan Weidmann.

Artist-Illustrators at White Room

“Bent,” a show of work by three artist-illustrators, will open at the White Room Gallery in Bridgehampton tomorrow and continue through April 23. A reception with live music by the Benders will take place Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.

An abstract painter known for his tactile works with layers of tar, shellac, and scrap wood, David Geiser is also an illustrator who has created underground comics and worked with such underground cartoonists as S. Clay Wilson. 

Charles Waller is both an illustrator and creator of mixed-media works that often incorporate found objects. He studied illustration at the Royal College of Art in London and has won awards for work in such publications as The New York Times, Esquire, and Sports Illustrated.

Mark S. Fisher, who has been creating artwork for five decades, is a longtime illustrator for The Boston Globe. His work also includes graphic design, comics, found-object assemblage, science fiction artifacts, and fantastic interiors. 

“Eleven Under Thirty” at Ille

Ille Arts in Amagansett will open “Eleven Under Thirty,” a group show featuring young artists, with a reception Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will remain on view through May 1.

Participating artists are Brianna Ashe, Amanda Brown, Glorimar Garcia, Evan Halter, Claire Hentschker, Adam Jonah, Burleigh Morton, Kevin Pomerleau, Sara Salaway, Morgana Tetherow-Keller, and Ella Wearing. The exhibition will also feature the debut of the interactive art installations of the United Imagination Project.

Two Painters at  Grenning

The Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor will present an exhibition of paintings by Maryann Lucas and Stephen Bauman from Saturday through May 7, with a reception set for Saturday from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Ms. Lucas will show a new series of still lifes whose elegant restraint represents a shift in her work to simplified backgrounds and muted tones.

Mr. Bauman’s figurative work includes landscapes and still lifes, but his character portraits first caught the attention of the gallery because “the subjects’ gazes mysteriously extend beyond the plane of the canvas to connect directly with the viewer.”

Mercedes Matter in Manhattan

“Mercedes Matter: A Survey — Paintings and Drawings From 1929 to 1998” is on view at Mark Borghi Fine Art in Manhattan from today through May 3. A reception will be held today from 6 to 8 p.m.

Matter and her husband, Herbert, were integral members of the New York School and counted Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Alberto Giacometti among their closest friends. She founded the New York Studio School in 1964. The Matters first came to East Hampton in the 1940s, and she maintained a residence in Springs from 1982 until her death in 2001.

Recent Work by Sue Gussow

Recent work by Sue Ferguson Gussow will be on view from Saturday through April 22 at the Front Art Space in TriBeCa, with a reception set for Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m. The exhibition includes 20 drawings and two paintings.

Unoccupied dresses and spent flowers are Ms. Gussow’s recent themes. Her dress studies attest to her mastery while suggesting the human figure despite the absence of the body. The flower drawings are a meditation on the passage of time.

 Award to Cornelia Foss

Cornelia Foss is one of five artists who will receive Arts and Letters Awards for 2017 from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City. Each artist will receive $10,000 to honor exceptional accomplishment and encourage creative work. Ms. Foss had a retrospective exhibition at Guild Hall in East Hampton in 2015.

Politically Engaged Murals

“La Lucha Continua the Struggle Continues: 1985 and 2017,” an exhibition of more than 150 photographs, artworks, and ephemera, will open Saturday at the Loisaida Center in the East Village with a reception from 3 to 6 p.m. 

Organized by Jane Weissman, a writer and muralist with Artmakers, Inc., the exhibition celebrates 24 politically themed murals painted in 1985 by 29 members of Artmakers and sited in Loisaida’s La Plaza Cultural Community Garden. 

Both Ms. Weissman, the administrator of Artmakers, and Camille Perrottet, its artistic director, live in East Hampton.

Collaborative Coloring

The Art Bus Project, a mobile exhibit founded by Lucia Davis, an artist-in-residence at Guild Hall, will launch a collaborative coloring series with Michelle Muri-Sloane, an artist from Sag Harbor, on Sunday at noon. 

Participants of all ages have been invited to Guild Hall to collectively color one of Ms. Muri-Sloane’s large-scale line drawings. Markers will be supplied, and the resulting artwork will be presented to Guild Hall. The walk-in event is free.