Landscapes: Group Show

About

Each artist’s work in the show can be categorized as landscape and the goal of the show is to illustrate just how broad this term is when applied to contemporary art. Onyedika Chuke deals with the issues of refugees and population movement in his sculptures that evoke the walking these people do in order to find a better life. At the same time the shells in the work reference the emptiness left behind and the impending danger on the journey, sadly many of these refugees will not make it to their destination and others will outright disappear. Sheila Isham's potent abstract paintings give the viewer a space to inhabit that is open to interpretation. Her works provide an opportunity to feel the energy they depict and to experience the world as she sees it, full of energy and color. Johnny Defeo portrays the American West as he continues the tradition of great American landscape painters, drawing inspiration from the natural beauty this country offers and from his predecessors. He goes a step further as he uses loose brushwork and vibrant colors to create a world that is entirely his own. Méïr Srebriansky uses resin to create both abstract and somewhat referential landscapes. His textures project off of his surfaces and thus enter the world of the viewer, beckoning them in. Kristin Simmons makes works that reference pharmaceuticals, thus creating a medicine cabinet as landscape. Her stacked works give the impression of a space that we can inhabit visually while at the same time referencing how the substances she highlights influence our daily life and perspective. Alex Nero's nebulous forms offer an abstract landscape of color and free form imagery. He experiments with pigments and water, photographing this practice in order to get his results. Smetsky has a more tongue in cheek approach as his Pink Panther and Papa Smurf have details that evoke landscape while also maintaining a cartoonish feel. Kyle Haddad Welch makes abstract paintings as landscape and gives his audience a chance to look at the details and negative space in his pieces. Frank Webster paints more traditional landscapes in terms of subject matter and technique but there is an ethereal quality to his paintings that imply there is more than meets the eye. Zoe Schwartz tackles the influence of Munch and Van Gogh in her exploration of the theme. She presents them together and perhaps no painter has influenced the genre more since Van Gogh. Nicholas Menghini uses a film camera to capture moments that have a poignant presence as he encourages the viewer to visit the places he has been. He captures vignettes with his lens and thus turns three-dimensional landscapes into two-dimensional images.

About his inclusion in the show artist Méïr Srebriansky says: "Landscapes are by nature ever-changing, an image of a landscape is a snapshot that can never be repeated. Likewise, in my resin works, I capture a moment within the painting process, with elements dripping and melting off the canvas. To create, Sploosh which protrudes off the wall, it took me months of trial and error to find the right temperature to pour the resin allowing it to harden in the dimensional shape...The Hamptons are a magical place in which light and landscape have inspired many great artists. It is an honor to be selected by Clayton to show with East End Culture Club, an artist-run space that truly supports artists through its mission."

East End Culture Club was founded by artist Clayton Calvert in 2019. EECC is situated downstairs at Tenet Shop with whom Calvert has a longstanding friendship dating back to the opening of Tenet’s first location in Southampton in 2010. The mission of the East End Culture Club is to engage the Hamptons community with local artists, New York City artists and creators from around the world. We wish to create an arts and culture hub that will contribute to the rich cultural legacy of the East End.

Press and other inquiries:
Clayton Calvert, claytoncalvert@gmail.com, +1 917-981-5723, http://www.eastendcultureclub.com/.