The East End is loaded with hot art shows all summer, and an intrepid viewer will try to see them all, but everyone has to start somewhere, right? Get your local art tour started with these five must-see exhibitions on the Twin Forks, then visit our Events Calendar and carve your own path.
1. Swells & Swirls at Alex Ferrone Photo Gallery (illustrated above)
This exciting new exhibit in Cutchogue on the North Fork features dramatic images of surf and sand by award-winning photographers Matt Clark and Mike DiRenzo. Swells & Swirls puts together Clark’s photographs of ocean waves and water in New York and around the world, while DiRenzo captures beautifully the sand dunes and stone formations of the American West. Clark has built an international reputation as one of the most artistic photographers in the surf industry and DiRenzo has defined his “voice” by eschewing popular digital automatic settings for more labor-intensive manual adjustments when shooting. Gallery owner and Dan’s Best of the Best platinum winner Alex Ferrone will also be exhibiting her “Aerial Observations,” a series of abstracted, sweeping formations of area waters.
Swells & Swirls is on view June 14–July 20 (11 a.m.–6 p.m. Thursday–Sunday and by appointment) at the Alex Ferrone Photography Gallery, 25425 Main Road in Cutchogue. An opening reception featuring Raphael Wines and cheese is scheduled for Saturday, June 14 from 6-8 p.m., and a free gallery talk with the artists (reservation required) is scheduled for Sunday, July 13 at 2 p.m. Call 631-734-8545 for more info or visit alexferrone.com.
2. Deconstructing the Sayre Barn – Photographs by Ulf Skogsbergh
Part of the Grand Reopening of Southampton Historical Museum’s newly refurbished Sayre Barn, this exhibit of highly detailed oversized pictures features what photographer Ulf Skogsbergh found to be the most fascinating phase of the barn’s reconstruction—its deconstruction. As the Sayre Barn was dismantled, its skeleton was revealed, the tools of another age came out of the shadows to be re-examined and admired for their sculptural beauty and simple utility. On the barn itself, each structural element revealed signs of the passage of time.
Deconstructing the Sayre Barn is on display from Saturday, June 14–October 18 at the Southampton Historical Museum’s Rogers Mansion Museum Complex, 17 Meeting House Lane in Southampton. The Sayre Barn Grand Reopening reception is scheduled for Saturday, June 14 from 4–6 p.m. This free event will include a slideshow about the history of the Sayre Barn, drinks from the Sayre Barn Bar or lemonade stand, and singing of the national anthem. Donors will be also be introduced and Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley will say a few words. Call 631-283-2494 or visit southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org.
3. Zenscapes at The Design Studio
Riverdale gallery Elisa Contemporary Art presents a meditative journey into the abstracted “landscapes” of three artists from the East and West Coasts. Zenscapes features the work of New York and East Hampton artist Michele D’Ermo, Los Angeles Flow painter Kimber Berry and San Jose paper constructionist Michael Buscemi, all displayed among the furniture and home decor treasures at Bridgehampton’s The Design Studio. The selected works present well outside the traditional gallery setting and allow the viewer to easily imagine how they would appear in a home environment. In her soft, contemplative works, D’Ermo melds together the earth, water and skies of a more traditional landscape and further abstracts them through rich colors and ambient light. Buscemi creates white-on-white, all-over compositions using hundreds of sharply cut paper scraps, and Berry—from the growing West Coast “Flow” movement—allows her paint and printed and collaged elements to meld on canvas in an effusion of color and motion.
Open through July 7, Zenscapes is the first of three art exhibits and related special events presented by Elisa Contemporary at The Design Studio (2393 Main Street, Bridgehampton) this summer. The exhibition is open Monday–Thursday 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.–4 p.m. An Artist Reception with Michele D’Ermo is scheduled for this Saturday, June 14 from 4-7 p.m. Call The Design Studio at 631-537-1999 or Elisa Contemporary (elisacontemporary.com) at 212-729-4974.
4. Steve Miller Health of the Planet at Longhouse Reserve
Hamptons artist Steve Miller returns to Longhouse Reserve with outdoor versions of his popular “Health of the Planet” series. This collection of freestanding glass panels features x-rays of Brazilian animals from the Amazon River basin, and displays a provocative clash between art and science, as only Miller can. Like Da Vinci and Frank Oppenheimer before him, the artist uses scientific devices to produce his striking multimedia works, while at the same time turning viewers toward thoughts of our suffering natural environment—as most clearly demonstrated in the South American rain forests. Longhouse Reserve’s natural splendor makes an ideal setting for these breathtaking sculpture. Make sure to check out all the other fabulous work (like Yoko Ono’s “Play It By Trust,” while you’re there!
Health of the Planet will remain installed at Longhouse Reserve, 133 Hands Creek Road in East Hampton, through October 11. The reserve is open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2–5 p.m. in June, and then Wednesday–Saturday from 2–5 p.m. in July and August. Call 631-329-3568 or visit longhouse.org.
5. Jennifer Bartlett: History of the Universe, Works 1970–2011 at Parrish Art Museum – Jennifer Bartlett emerged in the mid-1970s to become one of the leading American artists of her time, and one of the first female painters of her generation to be both commercially successful and critically acclaimed. History of the Universe, Works 1970–2011 explores four decades of Bartlett’s work in the East End’s most prestigious museum.
Open through July 13 at Parrish Art Museum (279 Montauk Highway) in Water Mill. Also make sure to check out the Parrish Museum’s other exhibitions (including selections from the permanent collection) and events, including the Lichtenstein Brushstrokes outside. To see all the museum’s offerings, call 631-283-2118 or visit parrishart.org.
BONUS SHOW:
Go see Michelle Carollo‘s “Bubblegum Vanity” installation at the Patchogue Arts Council’s Art Space Building (20 Terry Street, Suite 116) in Patchogue. Part of her Projections exhibition, also featuring site-specific installations from Jason Paradis, Carollo’s large colorful work is a force to behold, and it’s interactive. Viewers are encouraged to step up to the large vanity (the put-on-your-makeup kind) and snap selfies against its field of angular green, red and black. On view through June 21. Go see it now and then enjoy a dinner at one of Patchogue’s many happening spots!
