Abstracting Nature
“Atmospheres,” a show of paintings by Jeffrey Fitzgerald and Barbara Thomas, will open at the Sara Nightingale Gallery in Sag Harbor with a reception Saturday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and run through May 28. Both artists create abstract landscapes, seascapes, and skyscapes, but their approaches and sensibilities differ.
Fitzgerald, who spends summers on the coast of Maine, paints marshes, grasses, wildflowers, and trees that give way to horizons that ground the sky to the sea. His almost calligraphic strokes suggest wind, birds, kites, planes, and anything that might fly.
Thomas’s recent series of paintings transform the viewer’s sensory experience of space, using light as her main device. Trees, open fields, and seascapes are among her subjects, but her intricate drawings of clouds and skies convey her appreciation of the natural light of the East End.
William Tarr Solo
William Tarr (1925-2006), a sculptor and painter who had studios in Springs and SoHo, will have a solo exhibition at the Shamnoski Gallery on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “William Tarr: Alchemy and Artifice,” which will open next Thursday and continue through June 20, includes sculpture, drawings, and paintings focused mainly on the 1950s and ’60s.
Working during a period shaped by Abstract Expressionism and the rise of Minimalism, Tarr developed a distinctive practice grounded in material, construction, and physical effort. He gained widespread recognition for his monumental sculptures, which blend Abstract Expressionism with social and political commentary. Among those is the 30-foot-tall welded steel Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial near Lincoln Center, and the “Gates of the Six Million,” a bronze sculpture at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
In addition to his public art, he was an accomplished photographer, writer, and magician, performing as the Great Tarrini from 1947 to 1988.
Sixteen in Springs
“Sixteen Women,” an exhibition organized by Karyn Mannix in memory of Vito Sisti, the unofficial mayor of Springs, will be on view at Ashawagh Hall Saturday from noon to 7 and Sunday from 11:30 to 4. A reception will happen Saturday from 4 to 7.
The participating artists are AG Duggan, Beth Barry, Carol Hunt, Deborah Acquino, Donna Corvi, Joanlee Montefusco, Kerry Sharkey-Miller, Mary Daunt, Renee Gallanti, Setha Low, Teresa Lawler, Veronica Mezzina, Rosa Scott, Martha Stotzky, Susan Zises, and Mannix.
Bluedorn’s Mythology
“Sea Myth,” a solo show of work by Scott Bluedorn, will open at the Sagaponack Farm Distillery in that village with a reception Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. and continue through June 5.
The show will include paintings, drawings, prints, assemblage, and mixed-media work “based around my unique personal mythology of the sea,” the artist said. Mostly new, the work was made during his recent residencies in Montauk and on Sardinia.
Bluedorn will make a special kelp-infused cocktail for the opening reception.
Diversion at LTV
“Mental Diversion,” a show curated by Haim Mizrahi, can be seen at LTV Studios in Wainscott through June 30. It features work by David Slater, Nick Weber, Josh Dayton, Bob Sullivan, Chris Lucore, Fanyu Lin, Lenore Romm, Steve Romm, and Mizrahi.
