The Art Scene: 09.12.13
Printmaking Workshop
Guild Hall is offering an open studio workshop with Dan Welden, with sessions on Friday, Sept. 20, from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. and on Sept. 21 at the same times.
Participants will make an etching using the solar plate technique, which Mr. Welden has adopted and adapted to make greener and safer etchings without dangerous chemicals, according to his Web site. Images are set on a plate sensitized to light and developed using tap water.
Each session is $35 or $25 for members. Registration is available through Michelle Klein at michelle@guildhall. org.
Freeman at Tripoli
A solo exhibition by Eric Freeman titled “New Paintings” is next up at the Tripoli Gallery in Southampton. The gallery has included the artist in a number of group shows, but this is the first time it has devoted its entire space to him.
The gallery describes the paintings as ephemeral: “While we understand that these works are fastened to the canvas, that the paint is permanent once dried, there is an ever-evolving quality to their surface.”
Using oils, the artist experiments with the combination of elements in the buildup of paint. “Freeman applies layer upon layer, thinning them out intermittently — a process through which he creates different surfaces for light refraction to occur at various speeds, allowing the light to actually bounce between each layer resulting in a backlit quality,” the gallery said.
The artist, who earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Tufts University, has shown at many international galleries and museums. He lives and works in Sagaponack.
Coming Up at Ashawagh
The off-season is hopping at Ashawagh Hall this year, with two shows this week.
“Of Mees and Mim” will open Saturday morning with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m. The show will feature the work of Marcie Honerkamp and Adrienne Mim and will remain on view through Sunday.
Beginning Monday, Stephanie Whiston’s striking underwater photography will be on view in a show titled “Oceans Matter.” The show will have an educational and philanthropic aspect with Ms. Whiston leading discussions on Monday and Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m. A reception on Tuesday will benefit the Marine Education Foundation. The show will be up through next Thursday.
Gruen’s “Young
In the Hamptons”
“Young in the Hamptons: Photographs of the 1950s and 1960s by John Jonas Gruen” will be on view at Susan Ely Fine Art in New York City beginning Wednesday. A reception will be held Wednesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. Mr. Gruen captured his friends and colleagues at an apparently carefree and quieter time on the South Fork where paint and booze flowed freely. His collection of images, shown in parts in exhibitions in galleries and as part of the Whitney Museum’s permanent collection, documents moments in the lives of key artistic personalities be they painters, poets, musicians, composers, conductors, dancers, or actors.
The gallery will show a selection made by Mr. Gruen and his assistant and co-editor Sam Swasey of 35 images through Oct. 31.
Ooh La La in Sag
The Monika Olka Gallery in Sag Harbor will show paintings by Philippe Heurtaux beginning Saturday with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. The French artist works in acrylic on canvas with resin, adding gloss and depth to the surface of visible brushstrokes. The colorful compositions are abstract and stunning.
The exhibition will be on view through Oct. 14.
Catch Sciulli
On Governor’s Island
Christine Sciulli, an artist living in Amagansett with her family, will have a work on view at the Governor’s Island Art Fair through September.
“Languid,” a 60-by-30-inch site-specific HD video projection, is installed in the attic space at 404A Colonels Row. Viewing hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ned Smyth in New York
Ned Smyth, who has a studio on Shelter Island, will show work at Salomon Contemporary in West Chelsea beginning today.
“Those Who Remember” will have an opening reception tonight from 6 to 8 and will remain on view through Nov. 2. The sculptor works in various materials including bronze, stone, and cast concrete in abstracted organic and geometric forms.
Chinese Culture in Montauk
On Sunday at 3:30 p.m., the Montauk Library will present “Chinese Culture, A Treasure the World Can Share,” a free talk by George Wei. The slide lecture will cover the artistic, literary, and philosophical legacy of China’s past.
Dr. Wei is an engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Sustainable Energy Technologies Department, where his research focuses on ways to make oil and gas equipment more efficient while reducing pollution. His talk will examine the foundations of China’s culture and explore dance and musical instruments, among other topics.
Film Series
At Pollock-Krasner House
The South Fork’s fall art season has arrived and with it familiar friends such as the Pollock-Krasner House’s annual fall film series have returned. This year the series will look at connections artists here make to each other, their environment, and their audience. Marion Wolberg Weiss has organized the series and will lead discussions about the films after they are screened. Each film is $5 at the door and will be screened on Friday evenings at 7 p.m.
On Friday, Sept. 20, “Jackson Pollock: Portrait,” a film from 1984, will examine the artist’s relationships to Lee Krasner, his wife, and other artists. His connections to the places where he lived, such as the West and in Springs, will also be explored. The film was originally made as part of the PBS “Stroke of Genius” series.
“Eames: The Architect and the Painter,” from 2011, will look at Charles and Ray Eames as a couple famous for design, but who also touched on architecture, photography, and science in their creative pursuits. They were friends of Pollock and Krasner.
The last film in the series will screen on Oct. 4, “The Visual Language of Herbert Matter.” Also from 2011, the documentary reveals Matter’s influence on graphic design and his work in photography and film. Matter, who was also a painter, was friendly with both the Pollocks and the Eameses.