Michele Dragonetti: What’s ‘Under the Surface’
There’s more than immediately meets the eye in the work of Michele Dragonetti. In a year like this, it is particularly true, as more and more of her work has met more and more sets of eyes in a round robin of perpetual exhibition on the South Fork.
Over the past several months examples have been in group shows at the White Room Gallery in Bridgehampton, Art Unprimed’s pop-up gallery spaces in Sag Harbor and East Hampton, and at Roman Fine Art in East Hampton, a solo show at Quogue Library, and another one at the East Hampton Town Marine Museum. Now, her photographs of boat hulls are back on view at Roman in a solo show “Under the Surface” in participation with Casey Dalene and Art Unprimed.
Ms. Dragonetti, an Amagansett part-timer, has tackled a number of subjects, primarily urban in nature, from exterior scenes to architectural studies and people interacting with art. Here, however, she is known primarily for her truncated boat hulls, captured out of the water, revealing the part of the boat that is typically hidden.
When first confronted with a vast array of these images, their sameness can dull their reception. At Roman, the dense installation adds to the effect. The mind needs a pause to take it all in or make sense of the particulars. Within a few moments, the similarity of composition begins to enhance the individual details, setting each off more profoundly.
The sight seems so familiar, but it is confusing and completely out of context. Before viewers even know what they are gazing at, the eyes and mind work together to make sense of the patterns and linear relationships. These are very geometric compositions, lines converging on a point to form an axis that is slightly convex.
When names of the vessels are available, she uses them as the titles. Otherwise, she works with what she sees: “Dirty” is one example, or “Peacock” for a hull whose remaining paint resembles the bird’s feather. But there is something wonderfully whimsical about the names and the titles, from “Tuna Tangler” to “Pack N Play” and “What’s Betta,” plus all of the lovely women’s names: “Vera,” “Emma Jane,” “Joan-E,” “Alison Rose,” “Lady Lauren,” “Saint Agnes,” and so on.
In addition to all of the obvious metaphors about missing what is just beneath the surface, the artist asks the viewer to consider the boat in its entirety, from the personality of its owner to the formation of its shell. She does this selectively, in her own way revealing only what she wants you to see. The images are set under a thick layer of Plexiglas, seeming to float in their frames as their subjects do on the water.
The series is not that old. She began it in 2013, but the response has been immediate. She began tracking her subject matter in Montauk and has since traveled across three continents for material in places such as Argentina, Cuba, England, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Connecticut, Vermont, Florida, and California. Sometimes the origin of the images is obvious from the name of the boat. Just as often, the name and where it came from can be mysterious.
According to the artist, she finds “particular interest in the contrast between the abstract patterns of the structural and painted lines and colors of the hulls, and the evidence of their weather and age, which together create a unique interplay of textures.” The aim of her compositions are “to highlight the essential geometry of the images” to form an abstract portrait of the vessel.
The exhibition will remain on view through Oct. 29.