Box Art Celebrates Quinceanera
The 15th annual Box Art Auction benefiting East End Hospice will be held Sept. 12 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Ross School Lower Campus Field House in Bridgehampton. For those who wish a sneak peek, the boxes are on view today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hoie Hall at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton.
Three of the artists offered an early look at their boxes at various stages of development. James DeMartis, who works in metal, has taken part in 13 of the events. “Every year I do something different,” he said. He decided on a jewelry box with a bronze base for this year’s auction, and several months ago he showed a visitor a mock-up before beginning work on the actual piece.
Over the course of fabrication he cut shapes out of the bronze, enriched the surface with chemicals, and welded the pieces of the base from the inside with sheet metal. The box was oiled and waxed and partitioned to define jewelry space. Mr. DeMartis, who admitted to a history of finishing his pieces at the last minute, had to sneak into Hoie Hall after dark the night before last year’s preview to deposit his box.
Since April Gornik usually paints on such a large scale, she has to rethink how to approach something as small as a standard cigar box. “This year I’m doing a reflection of a pond,” she said several months ago. She had an image picked out and began working on it over the summer. Ms. Gornik, too, has participated in many of the box art auctions. “Working on such a different scale can be a challenge,” she said, “but the important thing is that I really believe in the hospice and supporting its work.”
Michelle Stuart’s body of work includes earthworks, installations, encaustic paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs. She has cited as influences on her practice history, botany, travel, and astronomy, the latter reflected in her choice of a starry night sky from which, somewhat mysteriously, a hand emerges. The photographs of her work in progress make clear how she is able to synthesize disparate objects and materials into a coherent whole.
The first box art auction took place 15 years ago, when more than 100 East End artists were asked to transform small, unadorned boxes into unique works of art to be put up for bids at an auction to benefit the hospice, which provides care for terminally ill patients, their families, and loved ones.
Arlene Bujese, the benefit’s chairwoman, has organized the art for this year’s exhibition, as she has for the past 13 years. Michael Cinque will serve as master of ceremonies, and Lucas Hunt will conduct the auction. Leif Hope will receive the Spirit of Community Award at the auction for his contributions to the area for more than 50 years.
Among the more than 80 artists participating this year are Jennifer Cross, Mr. DeMartis, Connie Fox, Ms. Gornik, Carol Hunt, Dennis Leri, Christa Maiwald, Fulvio Massi, Randall Rosenthal, Ms. Stuart, Hans Van de Bovenkamp, and Frank Wimberley.
Admission to the auction is $75, which includes wine and hors d’oeuvres. Photographs of the boxes will be available for viewing at eeh.org.