The Art Scene: 07.31.14
Two at Drawing Room
Concurrent shows of works on paper by Sue Heatley and sculpture by Adrian Nivola will be on view at the Drawing Room in East Hampton from tomorrow through Aug. 31.
Ms. Heatley, who lives in East Hampton, was influenced by the intense color and visual stimuli she encountered while in India in 2012. Her new work expands on her longstanding interest in patterns and textures with a vibrant palette, sweeping lines, looping archways, and ornamental fields activating the picture plane.
In his new body of work, Mr. Nivola has been inspired by the history of aviation and the passion and ingenuity of the earliest aeronauts. His constructions combine wire, string, linen, sheet metal, and found objects to pay homage, on the scale of model airplanes, to the aviation pioneers.
Group Show at Ille Arts
Ille Arts in Amagansett will present “Somatic,” a group exhibition organized by George Negroponte, from Saturday through Aug. 19. A reception will take place Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.
The exhibition will include work by James Angell, Matthew Bliss, E.L. Brown, James Greco, Bryan Hunt, Ilse Murdock, Joni Wehrli, and Lucy Winton. According to Mr. Negroponte, himself an artist, the exhibitors “are aesthetes scavenging reverential traditions for more fuel; alert and mindful that making one’s mark on art is very risky business.”
Benefit for Wildlife
Get Wild, a benefit for the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 9 at the North Haven home of the artists April Gornik and Eric Fischl. Hosted by Isaac Mizrahi, the event will honor the Marder family, Jane Gill, and Dr. Jonathan Turetsky and the Veterinary Clinic of East Hampton for their work with animals.
The highlight of the event is the rescue center’s first art auction, for which online bidding began July 23 and will continue through the day of the event. The auction includes works by Roy Lichtenstein, Ross Bleckner, Cindy Sherman, Mary Heilmann, Malcolm Morley, Keith Sonnier, Billy Sullivan, and Ms. Gornik and Mr. Fischl, among others. The auction can be previewed at paddle8.com.
The evening will also include a live auction of unique lots. Founded in 1997 in Hampton Bays, the rescue center is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of injured wildlife on the East End.
New Gallery at Red Horse
Studio 11, a new exhibition space at the Red Horse shopping plaza in East Hampton, will open tomorrow with a show of sculpture by Steven Miller. A reception will take place tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m., and the work will be on view through Sept. 14.
Mr. Miller, who divides his time between East Hampton and New York City, works primarily in steel, creating abstract geometric columns, reliefs, and layered compositions that suggest Russian Constructivism and the Bauhaus. He exhibited most recently as part of the Moby Project, a group show held last summer at the Mulford Farm.
Olko Features the Sea
“The Call of the Sea,” a show of work by Christine Matthai and Kia Andrea Pedersen, will be on view at Monika Olko Gallery in Sag Harbor from Saturday through Aug. 22. A reception for the artists, both of whom live on Shelter Island, will be held Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.
Ms. Matthai took up photography full time more than a decade ago, focusing primarily on nature. Her recent works explore the emergence of life and light from the darkness of the sea.
Ms. Pedersen is a printmaker, painter, sculptor, designer, and avid sailor. The paintings in this exhibition suggest the motion of waves and drops of water scattered by the wind.
New at Lawrence
“Serene Refuge,” an exhibition of paintings by Suzanne LaFleur, will open Saturday at Lawrence Fine Art in East Hampton and remain on view through Aug. 18. A reception will be held Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.
Born in Southampton and educated in New York City, Ms. LaFleur spent 20 years living in Lebanon, Kuwait, and France. Memory, place, and nature are integral to her most recent work, which is inspired by the landscape of the East End, where she still spends summers.
In one monumental painting, also titled “Serene Refuge,” the composition evokes, though fluid swatches of blue and green, an aerial view of the wetlands and water of the region.
“Toxic Waste” at Blumenthal
Blumenthal East Hampton is presenting “Toxic Waste,” a solo show of new paintings by Kasper Sonne, a Danish-born artist who lives and works in New York City, through Aug. 17. The exhibition includes three large chemical paintings from the artist’s TXC series and a video titled “Bad Chemistry.”
The new works are based on a concept of building up and breaking down. Mr. Sonne begins a TXC painting by using industrial paint and a roller to create a monochromatic surface. He then adds chemicals to the painting’s surface that initiate a process of reaction. Pigments shift in response to the chemicals, and eventually, as the chemicals dry, tiny crystals form.
Garden-Focused Workshops
Lois Bender, an artist and designer whose company, GardenSpirits NY, focuses on gardens and nature, is teaching several workshops this summer on the East End.
“Gardens, Watercolor, and Afternoon Tea,” a program at Guild Hall, will take place tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 8, and Aug. 15 at the Hedges Inn’s patio and garden at 74 James Lane in East Hampton. The cost is $100 per class, $85 for Guild Hall members, and refreshments are included. Registration is through guildhall.org.
Ms. Bender will also lead a multigenerational workshop at Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton next Thursday morning from 10 to 11:30. Parents, grandparents, and children have been invited to make sketchbook journals in which they will use watercolor crayons to capture leaves, flowers, and branches. The class is recommended for children ages 3 to 14, accompanied by a parent or caregiver. The cost is $30.
An ongoing watercolor class at Bridge Gardens takes place Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The fee is $45 per class. Registration for the latter two workshops is by email to loisbender@ gardenspiritsny.com or by phone at 212-249-6225.
Comics and Superheroes
“My Hero II,” an exhibition that pays tribute to comics and superheroes, will open Monday at the Design Studio in Bridgehampton and remain on view through Sept. 8. The show will include a Batman created by Mitch McGee in cut and layered Birch wood; “Battle of the Sexes,” a hyper-realistic look at the superhero lunchboxes of the past by Peter and Madeline Powell; Oliver Peterson’s mixed-media portrayal of the Justice League, and Don Morris’s comic book constructions.
A reception will take place Aug. 9 from 4 to 7 p.m.
“Pollock’s Champions”
The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center will open “Pollock’s Champions” today, running through Oct. 31. The exhibition will chart the influence of Peggy Guggenheim, Betty Parsons, and Sidney Janis, three dealers who showed Jackson Pollock’s work throughout his life.
Bobbi Coller, the guest curator, will examine their roles in furthering both the artist’s reputation and his career.
Pollock’s dealers were friends and associates who promoted his talent and his art. The exhibition includes telegrams, handwritten notes, sales records, brochures, and images, including a drawing Pollock made for Parsons, a gouache by Parsons herself, Andy Warhol’s portrait of Janis, prints by Pollock, and photographs from the Pollock-Krasner House collection.
A reception and panel discussion with relatives of the dealers will be held on Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. Admission is $5, free for members of the center.
Clothesline Sale
The Clothesline Art Sale, a Guild Hall tradition since 1946, will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nearly 400 artists enter the sale each year, with works priced from $50 to $2,000. Proceeds are split between the artists and Guild Hall.