The White Room Gallery’s latest exhibition, Splash, will feature works from photographer Lynn Savarese, painter Heidi Rain, and a group show consisting of works in a variety of mediums, styles, and subjects that were inspired by the exhibition’s title.
The word splash has several meanings: “strike and dash about a liquid or semi-liquid substance,” “to move in or into a liquid substance and cause it to splatter,” “to mark or overlay with patches of contrasting color or textile,” “to display prominently,” and “an ostentatious display.” All the pieces exhibited in Splash will be strongly rooted to these definitions and descriptions.
“Splash is a fun title for this exhibition where the art viewer can interpret the word in many ways,” gallery co-owners Andrea McCafferty and Kat O’Neill shared. “Some of the work is literally a splash of water other works hope to make a splash in with there vibrant colors or unique choice of media. Maybe a prominent display or a dash or stroke of color.”
Savarese, originally from a small town in Texas, traveled throughout the world before making New York City her home in the early 1980s after her graduation from Harvard Law School. She’s had careers in everything from investment banking to volunteer work for human rights organizations and finally planting her feet in photography where she has fully found her passion. Savarese’s photography has appeared in numerous shows and publications worldwide and she’s won several international prizes and honors, including being selected as a finalist in the 2016 Magnum Photography Awards competition.
For Savarese, photography is always about intimate observation. What makes her most excited is revealing how the ordinary can be viewed as extraordinary, and how the extraordinary can be portrayed with intimacy. Water is a big part of Savarese’s work as she has traveled to the Hamptons and Nantucket’s sea shores, the Adirondacks, Louisiana’s bayous and Texas’s lakes, and the Charles River, to the Maldives and the Caribbean, Iceland, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, France, Thailand, Vietnam, and Russia.
Rain studied watercolor and pastels with several esteemed instructors including Anne Seelbach, Dawn Miller, Lois Bender, Roisin Bateman and Beth Nehl. Her art has been exhibited at East End Arts, The Woodbine Gallery and Guild Hall. Before Rain started her pursuit of the arts she enjoyed a wide range of careers from lingerie fit model to Chi Gong instructor. Starting out in publishing, she eventually became editor of CBS astrology magazines and was a New Age book reviewer, astrological consultant, teacher and poet.
“As an artist living in Noyack, I am ever absorbing the beauty of the surrounding waters and the strength and steadfastness of our trees,” remarked Rain. “My response to such inspiration is to express myself through the media of watercolor and ink, pastel, charcoal, photography, and fabric inspired by the masters, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe and Joan Mitchell.”
The group exhibition will feature Ryan Schmidt, Steve Cohen, John Mazlish, Trefny Dix & Bengt Hokanson, Adrienne Fierman, Mark Seidenfeld, Zoe Breen, Tanya Minhas, Donna Bernstein, Kathy Buist, James C. Leonard, Nicholas Down, Brian Craig, and Marissa Bridge.
Splash will be on view from Friday, January 11 through Sunday, February 10. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 12 from 5 to 7 p.m.
The White Room Gallery is located at 2415 Main Street in Bridgehampton. For more information, call 917-526-2767 or visit www.thewhiteroom.gallery.