Two Solos at Halsey McKay
“2068,” paintings on ceramic supports by Graham Collins, and “Meteors in Metamorphosis,” mixed-media works by Saskia Friedrich, are on view at Halsey McKay Gallery in East Hampton through Dec. 28.
Mr. Collins has long focused on the material properties and techniques that inform each piece. The supports of the works in “2068” are fashioned from a clay slab that is cut, reinforced, dried, glazed, and fired — all before a piece of canvas or wood veneer is mounted on it in such a way that the ceramic is barely visible. Viewed head-on, the works appear to be minimalistic paintings, belying the labor that goes into the support.
Green architecture, sustainable cities, biostructures, and Sufi mysticism are among the sources of Ms. Friedrich’s work. The curved, organic pieces in the show are composed of aluminum and cotton. The push-pull between the matte of the cotton and the sheen of the aluminum has a counterpart in the play between the curved, asymmetric outlines of the wall pieces and the straight repetition of each work’s pattern.
Tripoli Gallery is on the move again, this time to 26 Ardsley Road in Wainscott, where “What Have We Done?” — the 15th annual Thanksgiving Collective exhibition — will open on Saturday with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Among the 50 artists whose work will be on view are John Alexander, Alice Aycock, Ross Bleckner, Dianne Blell, Jennifer Cross, Jeremy Dennis, Mary Heilmann, Bryan Hunt, Matisse Patterson, Keith Sonnier, Billy Sullivan, and Lucy Winton.
The artists in the show, the gallery’s largest Thanksgiving Collective to date, come from New York, California, Australia, Bali, and points in between. Their subjects include nature, fairy tales, folklore from the past, humans, and visions for the future. The show will continue through Jan. 30.
Beth O’Donnell, a painter, photographer, and mixed-media artist, will open her East Hampton studio at 132 Swamp Road tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
In her paintings, Ms. O’Donnell uses encaustic, oil paint, and oil stick to create abstracted images of landscapes, seascapes, and urban scenes. Her photographs range from close-ups of flowers and water lilies to documentation of her travels to Cuba, Africa, and the Amazon. For her mixed-media pieces, she mounts photographs on birch panels and covers the images with layers of wax and paint.
