Memorial Day Weekend Hamptons Art Show Openings

The Southampton Artists Association Memorial Day Show will debut at the Levitas Center for the Arts at Southampton Cultural Center, (25 Pond Lane, Southampton, southamptonartists.org) on Wednesday, May 22 and remain on view through Sunday, June 2. The exhibition will encompass more than 120 works created by local East End artists, whose specialties range from oils to acrylics to mixed media to sculptures to photography, and more. There will be an Opening Reception on Saturday, May 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. and Closing Reception on Friday, May 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. Admission to both gatherings are free.

“The Memorial Day Show kicks off our summer season at the Southampton Cultural Center,” stated Southampton Artists Association board member Paul Dempsey, “Our shows are always well represented, and we will be introducing a number of new members.”

The Montauk Artists’ Association’s Annual Memorial Day Weekend Show returns to the Montauk Village Green (www.montaukartistsassociation.org) on Friday, May 24 and remains on display through Sunday, May 26. Over 50 vendors will showcase a variety of works – from paintings to sculpture to jewelry to photography to mixed media to Gyotaku Art, and more. The Show will be held from 12 to 6 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free.

The 35th Annual Members Show at Ashawagh Hall (780 Springs Fireplace Road, East Hampton, ashawagh-hall.org) will take place Friday, May 24 through Monday, May 27. The Springs Improvement Society pop up exhibition will offer photos, paintings, and sculpture from over 100 members. An Opening Reception, with complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres, will take place on Friday, May 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Members Show will be open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the sales, as well as the $5 admission fee to the opening reception will support the maintenance of the historic Ashawagh Hall.

Halcyon Days, a solo exhibition of new works by polaroid Photographer Alex Moore, will open at Roman Fine Art (66 Park Place, East Hampton, www.romanfineart.com) on Friday, May 24 and remain on view through Monday, June 24. There will be a cocktail reception for the artist on Saturday, May 25 from 6 to 8 p.m.

CRUSH Curatorial (68a Schellinger Road, Amagansett, www.crush-curatorial.com) is kicking off its summer season with CornerSTONE, featuring works by Cati Bestard, Alina Tenser and Almond Zigmund. The exhibition will be on display from Saturday, May 25 through Saturday, June 8, with an Opening Reception on Saturday, May 25, from 4 to 8 p.m. CRUSH Amagansett is open on Saturdays from 12 to 6 p.m.

The White Room Gallery (2415 Main Street, Bridgehampton, www.thewhiteroom.gallery) will commemorate its latest exhibition, All The Pieces, during an Opening Celebration on Saturday, May 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition brings together four artists, Stephen Bezas, Susan Washington, Steve Cohen, and Andrew Schwartz, who offer four completely different points of view – neo-pointilism, deconstructed celebrity photographs, mixed media inspired by fabric and Valentino and splatter paintings. All The Pieces will be on view through Sunday, June 16.

“Uma Thurman? Basquiat? A bicycle built out of points? A painting made from notes? A Vivienne Westwood on canvas? For this exhibit we wanted to start small to end big. Torn photographs from celebrity photographer Andrew Schwartz, who studied under Aaron Siskind, are skillfully reassembled to create a distinctly personal, non-photographic narrative. Inspired by designers Valentino, Jacobs and Westwood Susan Washington’s mixed media paintings create, through colors and collage, a fashion show of their own,” Andrea McCafferty and Kat O’Neill, White Room Gallery Co-Owners and Directors, relayed. “Images from dots that interrelate and culminate into something that’s larger than the sum of its parts is perfectly executed by Stephen Bezas, a neo-pointillist who studied under Chuck Close. Abstract splatter paintings by Steve Cohen, Billy Joel’s renowned lighting designer, let color and movement make the viewer feel like they are at a concert. The composition becomes the soundtrack. Four artists. Four points of view. With All The Pieces falling delightfully into place.”

Rental Gallery (87 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, www.rentalgallery.us) will present I’m Made of Water, a group show highlighting Georg Baselitz, Marcus Brutus, Delia Brown, Andre Butzer, Brian Calvin, Jane Corrigan, Maia Cruz Palileo, Cheyenne Julien, Sanya Kantarovsky, Kurt Kemp, Robert Longo, Sarah Lucas, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Curtis Talwst Santiago, Kai Schachter, Hubert Schmalix, Frank Selby, Henry Taylor, Kon Trubkovich and Cameron Welch, starting Saturday, May 25. The Opening Reception will take place on Saturday, May 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. and the exhibition will be on display through Monday, June 17.

Strokes of Brilliance, showcasing new offerings by Drew Ernst, Katie O’Hagan, Rachel Moseley, Frank Oriti, Harmonia Rosales, Margo Selski, Will Teather and Armando Valero, will premiere at RJD Gallery (2385 Main Street, Bridgehampton, rjdgallery.com) on Saturday, May 25. There will be an opening celebration on Saturday, May 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. and the exhibition will remain on display through Monday, June 24.

“I’m Made of Water is about the figure. Not just the figure from the skin outwards, but the insides as well—the blood and guts,” Joel Mesler, Rental Gallery Founder, shared. “Too often recently, we have seen groupings of figurative artists with a laissez-faire feel. This is more about the figure that is desperate, and the figure that has to be more decisive. The discipline of these artists has all emerged out of desperation and necessity.”

Janet Lehr Fine Arts (68 Park Place, East Hampton, janetlehrfinearts.com) will celebrate the opening of the 2019 Hamptons season with a fête on Saturday, May 25 from 8 to 10 p.m. The evening will highlight a private collection of exquisite works by Milton Avery, Willem de Kooning, Jean Dufy, Eric Fischl, Arshile Gorky, Keith Haring, Wolf Kahn, Pablo Picasso, Paul Resika, and Tom Wesselman.