“Life in the Abstract” Returns Nov 1 – 3 to Ashawagh Hall

The Second Annual

"LIFE IN THE ABSTRACT"

November 1 – 3, 2013

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 2, 5 - 8 p.m.

Ashawagh Hall, at the crossroads of Springs Fireplace Road and Old Stone Highway, East Hampton, NY

 

The Second Annual "Life in the Abstract" returns to Ashawagh Hall from November 1 to 3, 2013. An Opening Reception takes place on Saturday, November 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition features paintings from four artists based in the Hamptons: John Haubrich, Fulvio Massi, Dru Frederick and Barbara Groot, who also curated the exhibition.

“Abstraction – the world I love most!," said Groot. "I chose these talented artists on the basis of their personal interpretation of abstraction and because I admire their work”.

Groot has assembled artists whose interpretation of abstract art both compliment and provoke conversation about the nature of the art form.

“If one digs a little deeper, life IS an Abstraction” further reflects Ms. Groot about the inspiration for the show. Also unique to "Life in the Abstract" is the strong design backgrounds held by all four artists.

Ms. Groot enjoyed a long career as a textile designer. John Haubrich is an art director. Fulvio Massi is a practicing architect and Dru Frederick works in art restoration and conservation. Elements of mass, geometry, line, color and balance manifesting in the artworks are clearly informed by each artist’s design background. As an ensemble exhibit, the personal interpretation of each – informed by various design backgrounds – is greatly enhanced by the commonality of the group.

Groot intends to use restraint in hanging a limited number of works at Ashawagh Hall in hopes of offering the viewer an uncluttered backdrop from which to “listen-in” on the dialogue between the paintings on display.  All participating artists have strong East End roots – another commonality – but their works have received recognition nationally. For 3-days only, this highly talented ensemble of abstract painters will bring a kaleidoscope of color, concept and artistic conversation to the walls of Ashawagh Hall!

Light, color and line are major influences in Groot's artworks, who draws inspiration for her landscape-based works from the vistas of East Hamptons and California.

"This energy has charged and influenced the work plus my ongoing desire to reinvent the immediacy of the ever-changing moments in nature," said Groot. "The paintings contain active and bold brushwork to pursue the energy felt in our natural world."

 

 

A strong and inventive layered use of color gives Groot's paintings a fresh, lush and sometimes surprising view into the world around us. The use of linear elements further vitalize the brushwork.

"Energy and surprise holds a special lure for me," said Groot. "At all costs,. I cannot give up attempting to convey this feeling and response to my work .... and I must be the most surprised one of all."

 

 

 

Dru Frederick is a colorist who paints and draws abstract expressions of land, water,sky and plant life. She sees her work as a process of experimentation and discovery as she connects to the power and freedom of the natural world. Currently living and working in Southampton Village, she has spent summers painting in the countryside of France.

 

 

Frederick has exhibited locally and nationally and is in numerous private collections.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Studio Art and Graphic Design from University of Michigan School of Art and Ohio Wesleyan University. She has also studied painting at the Provincetown Fine Arts Workcenter, Master Art Workshops at Southampton College and the Les Cerqueux sous Passavant Landscape Painting School-Atelier Sans Fronteirs in the Loire Valley in France.

 

 

 

Crossing into a different area of abstraction where grids, partitions and mystery play prominent roles are artworks by Fulvio Massi and John Haubrich. Massi's paintings conjure busy worlds that seem to swirl with activity and hold mysterious paths that lead beyond what's readily apparent.

"My paintings proceed from sensations," said Massi about his work after chosen for the 2011 "Artists Choose Artists" biennial juried show for the Parrish Art Museum by abstract artist Frank Wimberley.

"They have various entrances and exits, multiple centers and orientations," continued Massi. "They are a mix of singular figurative and abstract elements assembled in unanticipated arrangements. I think of my paintings as a stratification of events--a superimposition of different temporalities, characterized by swift accelerations, sudden arrest and abrupt discontinuities evoking the ebb and flow of life."

Massi has exhibited widely in the Hamptons and with Spanierman Modern in New York City.

 

 

 

Growing up in southern Minnesota, John Haubrich was inspired by the beauty of the surrounding countryside with its numerous rivers, lakes and the grid of farm fields. This attraction was made more intense by rural structures both occupied and abandoned. Of special interest eere abandoned farms, factories and other structures which led to his exploration of decay and new life that emerges.

Today, Haubrich takes his inspiration from the natural and internal worlds, as well as the urban environment. Using paper, found objects, oils and pencil, he creates multi-layered collages exploring themes of human relationships, spirituality, life and death and the blur between reality and fantasy. Recently Haubrich's work has included the introduction of laser printed imagery which, when combined with the abstract, continue the dialogue between fantasy and reality.

Haubrich has exhibited nationally and his work can be found in private and corporate collections in the United States and Europe. He is currently continuing his abstract practice using the format of digital design.

 

 

 

BASIC FACTS: The Second Annual "Life in the Abstract" will be held from Friday, November 1, to Sunday, November 3, 2013 at Ashawagh Hall. A Reception will be held on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition is curated by Barbara Groot. The exhibition includes works by John Haubrich, Fulvio Massi, Dru Frederick and Barbara Groot.

The exhibition hours are as follows:

Friday, Nov. 1: Noon – 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 2: Noon – 8 p.m.  ** Reception from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 3: Noon – 4 p.m.

Ashawagh Hall is located at 780 Springs-Fireplace Road, East Hampton, NY 11937. www.ashawagh-hall.org.