Artists Invited To Participate In Hamptons “Mystery” Art Show Benefit

Springs School is once again holding an open call for artists to donate their original pieces to be featured in The Springs Mystery Art Sale (SMARTS) at Ashawagh Hall. Artists are invited to submit one to four 5×7 pieces in any medium (two or three dimensional). Photography works are also welcomed.

The Springs Mystery Art Sale was inspired by a similar show the Royal College of Art in London presents. For the Stewarts Law RCA Secret, Royal College of Art students as well as professional artists and designers – like Christo, Damien Hirst, and Manolo Blahnik – create one-of-a-kind postcard-sized artworks that are displayed side by side and sold anonymously for the same small price.

Student artwork from a previous The Springs Mystery Art Sale. (Courtesy Photo)

SMARTS participating artists will have their work exhibited alongside Springs School students. The show will be on display at Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton for three days, from Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13.

“In past years this has been a hugely successful event for the School, as well as great fun for the wider community,” noted artist Sara Faulkner of the Springs School Visiting Art Program.

Like the Royal College of Art’s show, SMARTS pieces will be presented anonymously, with the artist’s signature to be hidden on the back of the work, and each work will be sold for $20. So, purchasers are tasked with the exciting mission of determining whether they can distinguish between an established artist or rising star.

In previous years, David Salle, Ross Bleckner, April Gornik, Liza Mineli, Micahel Barishnikov , Eric Ernst, Randy Rosenthal, Toni Ross, Dan Rizzie, Linda Capello, Abby Abrams, and many other notable artists have donated works.

“The ‘mystery’ will be revealed at the end of the exhibition where art collectors will discover whose work they invested in,” explained Faulkner.

This fabulous experience will culminate with a Closing Party and Live Auction on Saturday evening.

“All proceeds will help fund our arts programs, including our Visiting Artist Program,” added Faulkner. “This program pays to bring local professional artists into the school to teach workshops from kindergarten to eighth grade, interacting directly with the children. Everyone benefits!”

The artist submission packet is available online at www.springsmysteryartsale.com, by emailing Sara Faulkner at [email protected], and at The Golden Eagle (79 Newton Lane, East Hampton). The deadline for delivering donated artwork is Monday, May 1.

For more information, visit www.springsmysteryartsale.com.