DISPATCH - Apr 6, 2012 (12:05 p.m.)

HAMPTONS, NY

Solo shows seem to be the thing for this weekend. Gallery openings are being held for Michael Hennessy and Jake Rajs in Southampton and Salvatore Gulla in Quogue. In Patchogue, a show featuring Pop Artist Richard Smith opens tonight.

Photographer Jake Rajs has a solo show of images at the Rogers Memorial Library's Madelle Hegeler Semerjian Gallery. Each image is saturated with color and tinged with motion. Most of the photography depicts vistas from the North and South Forks. An exhibition opening and book signing was held yesterday (Apr 5). The show remains on view through Apr 30.

Rajs has around 13 photography books to his credit. Many of the exhibited photographs are part of "Portrait of Long Island: The North Fork and The Hamptons" (2011) and "Beyond the Dunes: A Portrait of the Hamptons" (2009). Both were published by The Monacelli Press. In addition, his photographs have been featured in Time, Life, Newsweek, The New York Times, National Geographic and others.

Photographs in the exhibition depict water in motion, farm fields, icon architectural views and East End vistas captured from above. Texture, color and composition choices translate into intense artworks. Here's but a trio:

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"Wave, Sand Striations, Quogue, NY" by Jake Rajs, 2006. Archival pigment print face-mounted to Plexiglas, 27x40 edition of 12. © Jake Rajs

"Seaglass, New York" by Jake Rajs, 2010. Amagansett, Napeague Bay, South Fork, Long Island. 6511 x 2525 cm. © Jake Rajs

"Bedell Cellars winery, Lavender" by Jake Rajs. Archival canvas, Edition of 25, 20 x 30 inches. © Jake Rajs

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Michael Hennessy is holding an opening reception tomorrow (Apr 7) from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at 4 North Main Gallery in Southampton. "The Hampton Spring Show" presents 22 abstract paintings by Hennessy plus ceramics and furniture from Hennessy Home. The show includes a few artworks by Mila Wilson of Springs. The show remains on view through Apr 29.

This is one of the first major exhibitions of paintings by Hennessy. For the last 20 years, Hennessy has made and designed furniture. His furniture could have been seen at his store, Comerford Hennessy at Home. It was located in Bridgehampton from 1999 to 2009. For the last few years, Hennessy has also turned his hand to painting.

His abstract works are mix of process and pattern that channels the spiritual. Motion and energy reverberate among the works.

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Painting by Michael Hennessy.

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Salvatore Gulla opens a solo show at the Quogue Library on Saturday (Apr 7) from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The compositions in "A Life in Art" take a "nonobjective mode" in their presentation, according to the gallery. Gulla's art ranges from portraiture to cubist urban landscapes to gestural abstractions, according to the gallery.

Gulla has been making art for over 40 years. He studied at the Art Students League of New York under Reginald Marsh, Morris Kantor, Vaclav Vitlacyl and other. Gulla lives in East Hampton and New York City. "A Life in Art" remains on view through Apr 29.

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"South Bronx" by Salvatore Gulla. Courtesy Quogue Library Gallery.

"Tango" by Salvatore Gulla. Courtesy Quogue Library Gallery.

"Two Women" by Salvatore Gulla. Courtesy Quogue Library Gallery.

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Meanwhile, further afield, Pop Artist Richard Smith is the subject of a solo show in Patchogue. "Richard Smith: Paintings and Drawings" opens tonight (Apr 6) from 7 to 9 p.m. at sPACe, also known as The Gallery at PAC Space. It remains on view through May 18.

Smith was a member of The Independent Group that "helped forge a movement that would become known as Pop Art," according to the gallery. Artworks by members were based on consumerism and mass market appeal before Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were making waves in the artwork, according an exhibition release.

Smith's art has been exhibited in museums around the world. His work is part of collections held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC and others.

"Border II" by Richard Smith. Courtesy sPACe.

"Avedisiane" by Richard Smith. Courtesy sPACe.

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BASIC FACTS: A solo show by Jake Rajs remains on view through Apr 30 at the Madelle Hegeler Semerjian Gallery at Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Road, Southampton.  For details, visit http://myrml.org/

Photography and books by Jake Rajs can be found at jakerajs.com.

"The Hampton Spring Show" takes place at 4 North Main Gallery, 4 North Main in Southampton. It's open daily from noon to 6 p.m. through Apr 29. Michael Hennessy's art and furniture can be seen at http://www.mhhome.net

"A Life In Art: Paintings by Salvatore Gulla" is exhibited at the Quogue Library, 90 Quogue Street, Quogue through Apr 29. For details, visit www.quoguelibrary.org/ Gulla's art can be viewed at http://salvatoregulla.com/

"Richard Smith: Paintings and Drawings" is being exhibited at sPACe, The Gallery at PAC Space, 20 Terry Street, Patchogue through May 18. There will be a fundraiser and reception honoring Richard Smith on May 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. Proceeds benefit the sPACe Gallery. Smith will conduct an artist talk highlighting his work and achievements. Admission is $25 per person. RSVP is required by calling 631-505-3PAC.

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© 2012 Pat Rogers and Hamptons Art Hub. All rights reserved.

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