This weekend’s picks feature artists who push the boundaries of their gentry. In each of these shows, the familiar (and expected) is present but then gets turned on its head. All of the trio have opening receptions this weekend.

This week’s picks are “The Irrational Portrait Gallery” at Southampton Center in Southampton, NY; “Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE)” at Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, NY and “Chop Wood Carry Water” at Fireplace Project in East Hampton, NY.

Continue reading for details:

“The Irrational Portrait Gallery” at Southampton Center

Get ready to witness portraiture that may shatter expectations of what it means to capture the essence of the subject. Or, for that matter, what altered prints can do. Photographer Rick Wenner teamed up with the artist collective FRESH of Port Jefferson, NY to create photograph-paintings that are both biographical and autobiographic.

Here's the deal: Wenner choose 21 artists and created their portraits with a camera. Large format prints were made and given to each to each the artists. The artists were given complete freedom to confront, alter, and manipulate the image as he or she saw fit.

"The Irrational Portrait Gallery" brings together all 21 collaborative artworks with the aim to raise a dialogue on the ways we view ourselves, how we are seen by others, and whether or not the continuum between real and unreal makes any difference, according to the Southampton Center. "The Irrational Portrait Gallery" also explores the relationship between identity, the photograph, and the manipulated image.

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray [Excerpted from the exhibition release].

The Opening Reception takes place on Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. The exhibition continues through July 20, 2014. The Southampton Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, NY 11968. www.southamptoncenter.org.

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"Carl Horn" by Rick Wenner. Courtesy Southampton Center.

"Carl Horn" by Rick Wenner. Courtesy Southampton Center.

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“Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE)” at Guild Hall Museum

Speaking of prints, Guild Hall is opening a sprawling show, curated by Robert Storr, that demonstrates how far a print can go. Is striving for world peace too far? Maybe. Striving for a better connection across cultures? Defineatly.

The exhibition features a star line up of artists who have been invited participate to the project that installs art by American artists in U.S. Embassies. A  panel discussion on the "Role of the Artist" immediately preceeds the Opening Reception. Both take place on Saturday (June 28). The panel will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. It features Storr leading the discussion with artists Tina Barney, Lynda Benglis, Chuck Close, Joel Shapiro and Carrie Mae Weems. The Opening Reception takes place on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m.

“Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE)” opened on June 21 and remains on view through July 27, 2014. Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street, East Hampton, NY 11937. www.GuildHall.org

RELATED: "Guild Hall Celebrates a Quartet of Exhibitions"

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“The Symphony” by Frank Stella, 1989 (American, 1936). Silkscreen/lithograph, 79 x 39 inches, Gift of the artist and Tyler Graphics Ltd. to the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies. Image courtesy of Guild Hall.

“The Symphony” by Frank Stella, 1989 (American, 1936). Silkscreen/lithograph, 79 x 39 inches, Gift of the artist and Tyler Graphics Ltd. to the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies. Image courtesy of Guild Hall.

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“Chop Wood, Carry Water” at Fireplace Project

Abstraction Expressionism seems to be on a lot of people's minds, these days. In fact, arguments could be made that contemporary abstraction may rival the art being made when the genre was new and mostly oil paint on canvas. This discussion is not the point of "Chop Wood, Carry Water". What may be is that individual expression takes many forms and the choices of materials reflects the differences.

"Chop Wood, Carry Water" brings together a trio of artists who may inadvertently push abstraction into new corners. The artists are Erika Keck, Nick Theobald and Michael Bevilacqua. (Bevilacqua also has a solo show at the Surf Lodge presented by Fireplace Project).

Keck's work is aggressive, unconventional and doesn't apologize if the viewer feels uncertain or challenged. She uses paint, canvas, steel and more to make her art. Theobald's work is gentler, full of intrigue and firmly in the present tense. Intensely textured, Theobald uses beeswax, linen and wood to create works that beckon the viewer closer. Bevilacqua's work both pushes and pulls, depending on the series.

In a series of new works at the Surf Lodge, Bevilacqu's paintings (spray paint on canvas) are gentle, subtle and comforting and conjure a day at the beach worth remembering. He's better known for art that pops and can be akin to street art pasted on walls and complex works where busy is best and symbolism reigns. What's to be exhibited at "Chop Wood, Carry Water" remains to be seen.

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Michael Bevilacqua “Visions of Hoth, 2014. Spray Paint on Canvas. 40 x 30 inches.

Michael Bevilacqua
“Visions of Hoth, 2014.
Spray Paint on Canvas.
40 x 30 inches.

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“Chop Wood, Carry Water” by Erika Keck, Nick Theobald, and Michael Bevilacqua has an Opening Reception on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition remains on view through July 21. The Fireplace Project is located at 851 Springs Fireplace Road, Springs, NY 11937. www.thefireplaceproject.com.

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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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Copyright 2014 Hamptons Art Hub LLC. All rights reserved.

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