“East End Collected” Celebrating Its Fifth Year

Southampton Arts Center will once again welcome Artist/Curator Paton Miller who has selected 32 artists to be showcased in East End Collected5.

“Six years ago I was invited to a meeting by then Mayor Mark Epley and other concerned residents of Southampton Village to contribute my ideas on how to go forward with the newly conceived Southampton Arts Center,” Miller reflected. “The main point I offered at the meeting was that a new arts center had to be ‘loved’ by the community to be enthusiastically supported and have a chance to grow.”

Miller, a longtime East End resident, conceived a unique way to champion local artists and the area, which he believes is an ideal environment for creatives to thrive. “In order to be embraced by the community I suggested that SAC should serve as a mirror and reflect the artistic community it resides in,” Miller said. “This was the kernel of the idea that gave birth to the East End Collected series.”

The 2019 iteration will debut on Saturday, April 20, with a free reception for the public from 5 to 7 p.m.

“East End Collected, which launched in 2015, has quickly established itself as SAC’s signature visual art series,” Southampton Arts Center Executive Director, Tom Dunn, noted. “Over the last five years, the EEC series has featured nearly 200 different East End-based artists. We are delighted to work with Paton again this year to create a compelling platform for both emerging and established artists from our extended community.”

To mark the exhibition’s 5th anniversary, SAC will introduce EEC Jr., featuring several rising stars.

“I am always amazed by the endless pool of talented artists residing on the East End. Each year Paton assembles an incredible exhibition including a wide variety of mediums and styles,” Amy Kirwin, Southampton Arts Center Artistic Director, said. “This fifth year is sure to be another wonderful example of his thoughtful curation.”

EEC5 will highlight pieces from Casey Chalem Anderson, Michael Cardacino, Sylvia Channing, Jeremy Dennis, Madison Fender, Francine Fleischer, Lori Hawkins, Carol Hunt, Anna Jurinich, Christine Keefe, Suzanne LaFleur, Geralyne Lewandowski, John Margaritis, Alexis Martino, Lauren Matzen, Kyle McNamara, Eric Meola, Oscar Molina, Joan Lee Montefusco, Nika Nesgoda, Cindy Pease Roe, Jay Schneiderman, Arden Scott, Ty Stroudsburg, Trina Tozzi Michne, and Isabel Turban, while EEC Jr. will feature works from Harlan Beeton, Emily Esposito, Cian O’Neill, Kai Parcher-Charles, Finn Pilaro, and J.B. Riffaud.

“Including this year’s East End Collected5, over 150 artists have participated in the EEC series. Artists whose careers range from working in their basements to those who have had long international careers,” Miller noted. “The connective tissue of these disparate careers is the quality of the work. The past exhibitions have all been strongly supported and much appreciated by the community and has helped put SAC on the map. None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of the Southampton Arts Center staff, board of directors, and the Village of Southampton.”

East End Collected5 will be on view through Sunday, June 9.

“I warmly thank them for the five years they’ve given me to investigate in-depth our shared artistic community,” Miller added. “It has been an amazing voyage of discovery for me and all who have participated.”

Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton. For more information, call 631-283-0967 or visit southamptonartscenter.org.