Colorful clashes, confliction in clay and sound captured in physical form have drawn our attention for this weekend. All three shows are bold and offer plenty of take-away to consider after walking out the door. Artists pull from the Middle East to Brooklyn to East Hampton so there's a wide cross range of influences captured in these three exhibitions. Expect to find video, ceramics, painting and mixed media works between the three galleries.
This week’s picks are “Dazed & Confused" at Eric Firestone Gallery in East Hampton, NY; “Keister Lee Levine” at ILLE Arts in Amagansett, NY; and an Open Studio artist residency presentation by Mohammed Kazem and Maya Chami at the Watermill Center in Water Mill, NY.
Continue reading for details:
"Dazed & Confused" at Eric Firestone Gallery
Blink and you'll miss it: Today's the last day to catch the colorful cacophony that is "Dazed & Confused". The title plays on a pop culture cult movie of the same name. The reference provides a hint of what viewers may experience while reacting to the art inside the gallery. Prepare to be overwhelmed, charmed, intrigued and maybe even "confused" about the emotions and reactions to the art brought together to form the gallery's first show of the Summer Season.
Tongue-in-check reference aside, the art connects through the concept of "aesthetic emotion", a term coined by art critic Roger Fry in 1920. He described the phenomenon "...as a positive and pleasurable, grand response to viewing an object. It’s that dizzying, overpowering feeling, that pleasant punch to the gut, only art can offer," according the gallery.
In keeping with Modern art history, the works selected stand up to a fine art lens: composition, color, texture, surface combine in purposeful ways as part of the artist's intent. Additionally, there is meaning within the bright colors and brash compositions...look and see if you can find it.
Exhibiting artists include Grant Barnhart, Bhakti Baxter, Kelsey Brookes, James Clar, Evie Falci, Ted Gahl, Field Kallop, Andrew Kuo, Pryce Lee, Brian Porray, Jaime Scholnick, Jen Stark and Ryan Wallace.
"Dazed & Confused" remains on view through June 15. Eric Firestone Gallery is located at 4 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, NY 11937. www.ericfirestonegallery.com.
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"Dazed & Confused" Installation Shot. Left: "Mammu" by Evie Falci. Right: sculpture by Jen Stark. Courtesy Eric Firestone Gallery.
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“Keister Lee Levine” at Ille Arts
Art with aggressive color and shapes can also be found at "Keister Lee Levine". Featuring fine art ceramics by Steve Keister, Jennie Jieun Lee and Elizabeth Levine, prepare to be intrigued by the cross section of artworks and a wide range of social and historic references contained with the show. All artists divide their time (and art making) between New York City and the Hamptons.
“Keister Lee Levine” by Steve Keister, Jennie Jieun Lee, and Elizabeth Levine remains on view through June 24. ILLE Arts is located at 216a Main Street, Amagansett, NY 11930. www.illearts.com.
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Artwork by Elizabeth Levine.
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Open Studio: Mohammed Kazem and Maya Chami at the Watermill Center
One of the more unusual art presentations can be found at the Watermill Center's "Open Studio" by Middle Eastern artists Mohammed Kazem and Maya Chami. The chance to see the art-in-progress and converse with the artists takes place today only (June 14) from 1 to 4 p.m.
Mohammed Kazem (b. 1969, Dubai, UAE) devoted his Watermill Center residency to listening to sounds generated by scratching shapes of objects in the Watermill Center collections and capturing the experience through touch. The process resulted in around 70 new works on paper. When light activates the work, it's possible to see "an infinite movement of sound on the surface of each paper," according to the artist.
Kazem's work has been presented at the Venice Biennial and exhibited internationally. He is a pioneer of contemporary Emirati art who creates conceptual explorations of the environment through works on paper, video, photography and installation. Kazem was a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society and is acknowledged as one of the ‘Five’, (including Hassan Sharif, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Hussain Sharif and Abdullah Al Saadi) an informal group of Emirati artists who represented a vanguard of conceptual and interdisciplinary art.
Maya Chami (b. 1981, Beirut) will present on loop three audio-visual works, Of Men, Champagne and Victory Aside (2012) and Transitional digital objects (2011) as well as a new work titled Jasmine - Tree: Copy Cat, inspired by The Watermill Center cat.
Chami's art making is centered on graphic design, digital art and audio-visual works. She has presented projects and artworks internationally.
"Open Studios" by Mohammed Kazem & Maya Chami takes place on June 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. Free but reservations are required. Watermill Center is located at 39 Watermill Towd Road, Water Mill, New York 11976. www.watermillcenter.org
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"Directions" by Mohammed Kazem, 2011.
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Three To See is a weekly column that presents Hamptons Art Hub’s short list of three exhibitions that shouldn’t be missed on the East End of Long Island.
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