The Arts Center at Duck Creek in Springs is opening two new exhibitions on Saturday: “Assembly Theory,” sculpture by Jonathan Shlafer in the John Little Barn, and “Are You My Brother,” a two-person show of works by Eliza Lu Doyle and Em Gallagher, in the Little Gallery. A reception for both will take place Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.
Mr. Shlafer, who lives and works in Amagansett, has spent the past several years creating forms inspired and influenced by the material itself. His primary medium for this exhibition is salvaged wood, some of which has been sourced by Mica Marder, who shares Mr. Shlafer’s appreciation for its beauty.
The history and character of each piece of wood shape the work’s final form. Using basic tools and unusual methods, Mr. Shlafer transforms logs into totems, chairs, even more delicate botanicals. The application of oils, bleaching, or fire enhances the beauty of the wood’s texture.
“I get a piece of wood, look at it, and decide what it’s going to be,” he told The Star last year. “Is it going to be a short fat thing, or a tall skinny thing? Or part of a group? A lot of my tall skinny ones are in groups, which is good because then they can have a conversation.”
“Assembly Theory” also showcases Mr. Shlafer’s recent botanical works cast in bronze, and large-scale gesture drawings will frame the entire show.
“Are You My Brother” combines pre-existing works with new works. Both Ms. Doyle and Ms. Gallagher explore queer embodiment and physical interdependence in an era continually defined by a sense of groundlessness.
The artists use their respective tools — collage, photography, and video — to plumb the poetics of bodies that move in relation to a shifting ground. They have been using the term “queer entropy” to describe a kind of falling together, falling apart, and reconstituting. They stage exercises of bodily entanglement and uncertainty, swimming and wrestling, lingering, lounging, and sparring at the shore’s edge.
A talk about Visual Thinking Strategies, an inquiry-based teaching method that has changed museum education, will he held at the arts center on Sept. 22 at 3 p.m.
