The Art Scene: 06.12.14

Artists on Inspiration

    “Unmasking the Muse: Inspiration in the Arts,” a panel discussion with Laurie Anderson, Andrea Cote, and Maria Maciak moderated by Marion Wolberg Weiss, will take place Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Pollock-Krasner House in Springs.

    Ms. Anderson, who has a house in Springs, is an internationally renowned experimental performance artist, composer, and musician whose work has extended the boundaries of performance for four decades.

    Much of Ms. Cote’s multimedia work uses her own body as subject, object, and medium, but she has also produced temporary public art projects and site-specific installations on the East End, in New York City, and around the country. She lives in Flanders.

    Ms. Maciak, who is the media director at the Ross School in East Hampton, has worked as a producer, director, camera operator, and film and video editor. At Ross, she organized the Ross Human Rights Film Festival in collaboration with Human Rights Watch.

    The program will begin with a wine and cheese reception, followed at 6 by the panel discussion. Admission is $5, free for members, and reservations are not required.

Fireplace Project at Surf Lodge

    “EXSanguiNatio_n,” an exhibition of work by Michael Bevilacqua, will open tomorrow at the Fireplace Project at the Surf Lodge in Montauk and remain on view through July 13. An opening reception will take place Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.

    Mr. Bevilacqua’s work has long been informed by pop culture and, especially, music. “EXSanguiNatio_n means bleeding to death,” he has written. “I have been working with spray paint for the last several years to bring the medium beyond the idea of graffiti. Works come together in a collision between Mark Rothko and Lana Del Rey.”

    His work is in the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, and the San Francisco Museum of Art, among others. He lives in New York City.

New at Birnam Wood

    “Elements,” an exhibition of new work by David Datuna, opens today at Birnam Wood Gallery in East Hampton and will run through July 1. The show consists of portraits of famous figures, among them Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana, and Michael Jackson.

    Each portrait incorporates a varying matrix of small dots, digitally printed, that coalesce into a recognizable image. An undulating screen of eyeglass lenses of different prescriptions is mounted over each image, forming a complex “lens” that both reveals and distorts the figures.

    Born in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Mr. Datuna lives and works in New York City. He has exhibited widely in this country and abroad. His installation “Viewpoint of Billions” was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., in February.

Sayre Barn Reopens

    On the occasion of the reopening of the Sayre Barn, the Southampton Historical Museum will present an exhibition of highly detailed oversized photographs, taken by Ulf Skogsbergh, of the deconstruction of the 1825 building. An opening reception for both the barn and the show will be held on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m.

    For Mr. Skogsbergh, a photographer who lives in Southampton, the dismantling of the barn provided an opportunity to examine and document the building techniques and design imperatives of an earlier age.

    The exhibition will include photographs of single objects — among them a saw, a plow, a shingle, and a horseshoe — in dramatic isolation on a white background. Other images focus on the sculptural beauty of the building’s skeleton.

    The exhibition will be installed in the barn, which was renovated by Strada Baxter Design/Build. Admission to the reception is free; light refreshments will be served.

Three Amigos From Sagg

    “The Three Amigos of Sagaponack,” an exhibition of work by Hans Van de Bovenkamp, Nathan Slate Joseph, and Ed Haugevik, is on view at the Monika Olko Gallery in Sag Harbor through July 2.

    Mr. Van de Bovenkamp is known for monumental sculptures but also creates smaller pieces and drawings. Mr. Joseph will exhibit textured, weathered pieces that blur the boundaries between painting and sculpture. Mr. Haugevik’s minimalist steel sculptures have been commissioned for sites throughout the country, including the Hayground School in Bridgehampton.

    A reception will take place on June 21 from 5 to 8 p.m.

Abstraction at Ashawagh

    Ashawagh Hall in Springs will host “Mostly Abstract II,” a group exhibition, on Saturday and Sunday. Painting, sculpture, drawings, and photography by 11 artists who approach abstraction in a variety of styles, will be on view.

    An opening reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres will be held Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

John Little Society

    A correction to last week’s Art Scene: Donations to the John Little Society should be made payable to the Town of East Hampton, with “Duck Creek Art Exhibition” specified on the face of the check, and mailed to Jess Frost, 366 Three Mile Harbor Road, East Hampton 11937.

Benefit for Wildlife

    Artists for Elephants and Rhinos, a benefit for the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, will be held on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Dora Frost Studio, 15 Windmill Lane in Southampton.

    Artwork by Lucy Cookson, Dinah Maxwell Smith, Sander Whitlan, Judith Whitlan, Alice Ryan, Allan Ryan, Kimberly Goff, Ronny Cohen, John Rist, Trevor Boteler, Blair Seagram, and Ms. Frost will be on view.

    The foundation, which is registered in Houston and headquartered in Zimbabwe, trains rangers across southern Africa, where they provide the first and last line of defense against the illegal trafficking of wildlife. Fifty percent of all art sales will go to the foundation.