Davis Murphy is a nationally known artist specializing in large scale paintings and sculptures. As an homage to the late Bettie Page, Murphy painted Bettie’s image on 30-foot yacht sails, which debuted during Art Basel Miami Beach 2010 on the tall ship Liberty while docked at the Miami Beach Marina. Bettie Page, with her black hair and bangs, the “girl-next-door” appeal and notorious legacy, was the infamous 1950s pinup.
The Sails featuring Bettie’s image will be installed outside of Gallery 125 Water Mill from August 30 to September 22 and celebrated with a Reception on Saturday, September 6, from 6 to 8 p.m.
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"Bettie Page" by Murphy Davis, 2010. Sail cloth,
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"Murphy's sail installation, placed outside the front entrance of Gallery 125 Water Mill, is an epic way to invite visitors to our Horizontalist Group Show,” said Aileen O'Neill, Director of Gallery 125 Water Mill. “Not only are the sails alluring and sexy, his method of painting and use of unconventional medium are perfect examples of the Horizontalist Movement."
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"Untitled" by Larry Wolhandler, 2006. House paint, graphite and ink on paper, 18 x 24 inches.
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The group exhibition by the Horizontalists is exhibited through September 22nd at the gallery. The Horizontalist exhibitors are David Adams, Daniel O'Keefe, John Perreault, Mark Van Wagner, and Larry Wolhandler.
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"Untitled" by David Adams. House paint on canvas, 16 x 10 feet, triptych
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Horizontalism, a 21st century abstract art movement, began in 2010 in Bellport Village, NY. A group of artists in residency at Gallery 125 Bellport realized they all worked from above, in a horizontal fashion, on the floor or a table. The Horizontalists distinguish themselves as a group from the “Bellport School”, which pours, paints, drips, scrapes, and abrades pigments on horizontal surfaces as they bear down from above onto floors or tables rather than on easels or walls.
The Horizontalist generally use non-traditional implements (not paint brushes), but action, trowels and hawks, gravity, centrifugal force, sanders, glues, glass pipes, etc. to draw and paint.
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"No. 44" by Daniel O'Keefe, 2011. Venetian plaster and color paste on aluminum board.
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“When our paintings made on the horizontal are tilted to the vertical and hung on walls, the viewer sees aerial abstractions, maps of process, beautiful bird’s-eye views, and glimpses of spatial, psychological and semantic disorientation,” says Horizontalist John Perreault. “Increasingly I am now using gravity as my brush, tilting the canvas to control the paint or coffee…We are not turning painting upside down; we are turning painting on its side.”
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"Siege" by John Perreault 2012. Acrylic and black sand on canvas, 40 x 30 inches.
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"Statue" by Mark Van Wagner, 2014. Sand and acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches.
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The Sails featuring Bettie’s image by Murphy Davis will be installed outside of Gallery 125 Water Mill from August 30 to September 22. A Reception will be held on Saturday, September 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Horizontalists are currently on view through September 22, 2014.
Gallery 125 Water Mill is located at 688 G Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY 11976. www.gallery125.org.
The gallery is open Friday and Saturday from 1 to 8 p.m.; Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.; and Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The gallery is closed Tuesday - Thursday.
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