The Art Scene 05.12.16
New at Drawing Room
The Drawing Room in East Hampton will present two concurrent exhibitions, “Toni Ross: New Sculpture” and “Artists in the Field,” from tomorrow through June 20.
Ms. Ross’s new stoneware sculptures explore surface, structure, and stability, with scored, abraded, and slip-brushed surfaces revealing the sculptor’s processes and referring to architecture, assemblage, and cuneiform. Several of the works incorporate discernable yet ambiguous textual elements.
“Artists in the Field” includes work by Irene Kopelman, Pat Pickett, and Alexis Rockman, all of whom operate in direct contact with nature to create work informed by traditions of scientific observation.
Ms. Kopelman will show small paintings created while camping for a month in the Amazonian rainforest. Ms. Pickett has used drawing, photography, and video to capture how trees respond to invisible natural forces. Mr. Rockman’s “East End Field Drawings” use indigenous soil and sand to create works on paper that depict the region’s ecosystems.
RJD Show for the Retreat
The RJD Gallery in Sag Harbor will open “The Art of Discovery,” an exhibition to benefit the Retreat, with a reception Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will continue through June 12.
It includes the work of five artists selected from more than 100 who submitted works by making donations to the Retreat: Amanda Bellino, Anthony D’Avino, Miles Jaffe, Sarupa Sidaarth, and Anzhelika Doliba.
Ms. Bellino uses sand, mortar, and gel to create multi-dimensional sculpture. His antique toy collection is the inspiration for Mr. D’Avino’s work. Miles Jaffe’s “Artists’ Color” series features paint tubes that explore the relationship between pop culture, the artist, and his medium.
Ms. Sidaarth uses acrylic paint to make circular and metallic elements to transform images that raise social issues. Ms. Doliba is part of a group of artists who alter space with murals, plaster forms, and faux finishes.
The Retreat is the only nonprofit domestic violence agency serving the East End.
Arts Center Appointment
The Southampton Arts Center has announced the appointment of Amy Kirwin as its new director of programs. Since 2010, Ms. Kirwin has served as head of museum experience at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, where that uncommon title encompassed both visitor services and public programming.
Her varied background includes extensive experience in theater, ranging from a degree from the Circle in the Square Theater School in Manhattan to management positions with the Broadway League and the Tony Awards.
“I’m thrilled to join the staff of the arts center to take the lead on programs,” she said, “and I look forward to bringing new and exciting offerings to Southampton Village and the East End.”
Floral Photography
The “Florescence Exhibit,” a show of work by three photographers who engage floral subjects, will be on view at the Alex Ferrone Gallery in Cutchogue from Saturday through June 19. A reception will take place Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.
Participating artists are Barbara Macklowe, who has a house in East Hampton and an eponymous antiques gallery in Manhattan; Sandra Carrion, who teaches photography at Nassau Community College, and Richard Gardner, whose influences include the artist Man Ray.
Terry Elkins at Estia’s
Landscape paintings by Terry Elkins are on view at Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor through July 11. A Texas native, Mr. Elkins was academically trained until, as a graduate student at the University of Houston, he met Willem de Kooning, Ron Gorchov, and other New York artists. As a result, his work turned toward abstraction, and he decided to move, first to New York City and then, in 1987, to Bridgehampton.
Finding himself in “a landscape surrounded by ocean,” he returned to representation, focusing on landscapes, nautical and marine themes, lighthouses, and the older houses and barns of the East End. His work is in numerous private and public collections.
Hampton Classic Poster Artist
Shannon Lawlor of Alberta, Canada, has been selected as the official poster artist for the 41st annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, which will take place in Bridgehampton from Aug. 28 through Sept. 4. The selected artwork, “Flexible Soul,” is a painting of the famed Olympic show-jumping stallion Flexible, photographed at last year’s Masters Tournament at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, British Columbia.