DISPATCH - May 4, 2012 (6:12 p.m.)
EAST END OF LONG ISLAND, NY
Saturday's the night for Hamptons exhibition openings. This includes Guild Hall's annual Artists Members Exhibition. New art shows for this weekend include a solo show by John Wissemann in Greenport and a group exhibition featuring Tonalist paintings in Sag Harbor.
Guild Hall's 74th Annual Artists Members Exhibition has an opening reception on Sat (May 5) from 5 to 6 p.m. Members can get a preview from 4 to 5 p.m. The exhibition is open to all Guild Hall members and is judged by an art world professional. This year's juror is Lilly Wei. Wei is an art critic, independent curator and essayist. She's a regular contributor to "Art in America" and is a contributing editor at "ARTnews".
The show remains on view through June 9. Here's an installation preview of the show:
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Installation view of Guild Hall's 74th Annual Artists Members Exhibition. Courtesy of Guild Hall.
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Installation view of Guild Hall's 74th Annual Artists Members Exhibition. Courtesy of Guild Hall.
"Tonalism, Trompe l'oeil and the Seven Deadly Sins” opens at The Grenning Gallery on Sat (May 5) with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Painters exhibiting in the show are contemporary American Tonalist Kevin Sanders, Tromp l'oeil painters Colin Berry and Jimmy Sanders, and painters Stephen Bauman, Melissa Franklin and Thomas Shelford. A series of bronze sculptures by Chad Fisher is a featured part of the exhibition.
Fisher's sculpture "...captures the enduring truth of our human foibles, in a delightfully honest and sometimes humorous demonstration," writes gallery director Laura Grenning.
Tonalism paintings often portray backlit landscapes at dawn or twilight and impart a distinctive mood. Subtle values shifts direct viewers to the painting's main subject, according to The Grenning Gallery. The Tonalism Movement took hold from the 1880s to around 1915, according to an exhibition release. Notable painters in the historic movement include George Inness, J.M. Whistler and Charles Warren Eaton.
The contemporary Tonalist paintings, in conjunction with the sculpture and Tromp l'oeil paintings, develop the exhibition's exploration of "the beauty of nature and the beastly side of humanity," according to Grenning. "Tonalism, Trompe l'oeil and the Seven Deadly Sins” remains on view through June 3.
"Nocture" by Colin Berry. Painting, 12 x 16 inches.
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"East Hampton Beach Path No. 1" by Thomas Shelford. Monotype print on paper.
In Greenport, "John Wissemann - ON THE COAST" opens today (May 4). It remains on view through May 28. A reception has not been planned.
For the artwork exhibited in "ON THE COAST," Wissemann uses elements from drawings made during sketching expeditions to working waterfronts. These include Greenport, NY, Friendship, ME and Rockland Maine harbors, according to the gallery.
Lobster boats, fishing boats, docks, shanties, islands, reflections and wind ripples in the waters are combined in unique ways to make art that seems to use a matrix to anchor overlaid patterns that seem to have a whimsical feel.
Wissemann is known for his large-scale improvisations and transformations of Japanese woodcut prints. His art has been exhibited at the Farnsworth Art Museum and is part of the museum's permanent collection.
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"Harbor #8" by John Wissemann. Etching ink and colored pencil, 24 x 20 inches.
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"Harbor 3" by John Wissemann. Mixed Media on paper.
"Harbor #4" by John Wissemann. Mixed Media on paper, 20 x 24 inches.
BASIC FACTS: Guild Hall's 74th Annual Artists Members Exhibition is on view from May 5 to June 9. The museum is located at 158 Main Street, East Hampton, NY. A "Meet the Winners" artist talk will be held on May 19 at noon. It will be led by Michelle Klein, who organized the show. Klein is an assistant curator at Guild Hall Museum. www.guildhall.org
"Tonalism, Trompe l'oeil and the Seven Deadly Sins” is exhibited from May 5 to early June at The Grenning Gallery, 19 Washington Street, Sag Harbor, NY. www.grenninggallery.com
"John Wissemann - ON THE COAST" is on view through May 28 at South Street Gallery, 18 South Street, Greenport, NY. The gallery is open Friday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and by appointment. http://thesouthstreetgallery.com/
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