A different type of Nor’Easter will be flowing through the William Ris Gallery as it kicks off 2019 by hosting the North Fork Art Collective in their first exhibition of the year titled WRG x NFAC: NEW YEAR, NEW WORKS featuring new and/or never seen artworks by the Collective’s members — Emma Ballou, Scott Bluedorn, Kelly Franké, Kara Hoblin, Cindy Pease Roe, Verona Penalba, Dalton Portella, Chris Hamilton, and Dennis Chalkin — opening on February 16 and running until March 10, 2019.

This is the first time that the William Ris Gallery is collaborating with the North Fork Art Collective, let alone another artists’ group. “Offering my space to the Collective members is a merging of the creative minds of the East and West ends of the North Fork,” said gallery director Mary Cantone.

If there is a running thread connecting the artists of the NFAC, it is the undeniable awareness of the environment afforded by the natural beauty which Long Island’s East End holds, from its landscapes and farmlands, the Sound and Bay, and to the sea.