5 Must-See East End Art Shows This Weekend

The East End gallery scene is booming this summer, and motivated art lovers will try to see them all, but it never hurts to find help getting started. Begin your Twin Forks gallery tour with these five must-see exhibitions in the Hamptons and on the North Fork, then visit our Events Calendar and carve your own path.

1. Grand Royale at Tonic Artspace (illustrated above)
Presented by Tonic Artspace (an art pop-up evolved from the Bonac Tonic collective), Grand Royale is a celebratory showcase of  the East End’s emerging contemporary talent. Whimsical painter and Tonic co-founder Carly Haffner curated the exhibition, which opens a season of art shows at Amagansett’s historic Jackson Carriage House. An inviting array of rich works is on display in all manner of media from local artists Darlene Charneco, Carly Haffner, Abby Abrams, Oliver Peterson, Grant Haffner, Scott Gibbons, Janet Jennings, Doug Reina, Gabriele Raacke, Christine Lidrbauch, Marcie Honerkamp, Burt Van Deusen, Andy Piver, Rossa Cole, Ryan F Kennedy, Scott Hewett, Ron Focarino, Pamela Focarino, Dennis Leri, Peter Ngo, Scott Bluedorn (this week’s Dan’s Papers cover artist), Hailey London, Matt Brophy, Kristi Hood, Charles Ly, Sven Hokanson, Peter Dayton, Robert Nasatka and Ingrid Silva.

A special artists’ reception/party is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 from 6-9 p.m. Grand Royale will also be open 2–6 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday, and will be open weekends and by appointment through July 12 at Jackson Carriage House (corner of Windmill Lane and Main Street) in Amagansett. Visit bonactonic.com.

2. #highfunctioningADD at Eric Firestone Gallery
Eric Firestone Gallery’s latest offering, #highfunctioningADD is the first US solo gallery exhibition of artist and fashion-world fave Donald “Drawbertson” Robertson. Co-hosted by the artist’s good friends, designer Lisa Perry, Carlos Souza and designer Kim Gieske (Mrs. Donald Robertson), the show features Robertson’s fabulously scattered internal mood board and nonstop flow of paintings, collages, sculptures and #impossiblecollaborations.  Among other inspirations, including his children, Robertson collects, catalogues and reacts to images on Instagram and typically posts them back on his hugely popular Instagram account @donalddrawbertson.

On view June 21 – 30, #highfunctioningADD begins with a special opening reception on Saturday, June 21 from 6–9 p.m. at Eric Firestone Gallery (4 Newtown Lane) in East Hampton. Call 631-604-2386 or visit ericfirestonegallery.com.

3. A Conversation with Lili Almog (and Down to Earth) at Vered Gallery
An exhibition of new work by photographer and recent Dan’s Papers cover artist Lili Almog, Down to Earth introduces her newest series of photographs featuring landscapes, including local golf courses, taken using satellite imagery and embellished with the artist’s own drawings. This is Almog’s debut solo exhibition and it’s been creating quite a buzz in the Hamptons gallery scene.

Almog will be on hand for an artist’s talk at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 21. Along with the conversation about her unique and fascinating work, the Israeli-American artist will preview her first 25-minute documentary, a commemoration of Israel’s Carmel Fire, with an award-winning original score, beginning at 3 p.m. at Vered Gallery (68 Park Place) in East Hampton. Make sure to reserve your seats/RSVP by emailing janetlehr@veredart.com. Call 631-324-3303 or visit veredart.com for more info.

3. Judith Hudson: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Tripoli Gallery
This solo exhibition of humorous, quixotic and even X-rated watercolors by Judith Hudson span the artist’s past two years of work, from 2012–2014. Drawing inspiration from the show’s namesake play and its author William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream highlights the timelessness of the piece, as well as the ridiculous aspects of sex and romance. With all its strange scenes, mixing bondage and sex with fairy tales, fables and cartoonish animals, Hudson’s work is bizarre, thought-provoking yet oddly sweet and charming. This marks Hudson’s first solo exhibition at Tripoli Gallery, and it’s absolutely worth a look.

On view through July 13, Judith Hudson: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is located at Tripoli Gallery (30A Jobs Lane) in Southampton. A public reception is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 from 4–6 p.m. Call 631-377-3715 or visit tripoligallery.com.

4. William Porter at Town & Country Real Estate
In spite of the unconventional location at Town & Country’s Southold real estate office, William Porter’s series of landscape present a classic and nostalgic look at the farms, boats, harbors, shores and vistas of Long Island’s North Fork. The painter is a third-generation professional artist and grandson of Disney Animator Hank Porter, though his work feels more like the great Fairfield Porter (no relation). After nearly 30 years of plying his trade, in various forms, all over the U.S.—from Florida to California—Porter found his home in New York and has since created a vibrant body of work. These latest paintings come from a time of renewal and reflection and the latest chapter in a storied life.

On view through July 30, the exhibition is located at Town & Country Real Estate’s Southold (57125 Main Road) office. Call 631-461-3340 or visit williamporterfineart.com.

5. A Friendship: Carl Andre at Dan Flavin Institute
In conjunction with the retrospective at Dia:Beacon, Carl Andre: Sculpture as Place, 1958–2010, the Dan Flavin Art Institute presents a selection of Carl Andre’s poems, collages, and works on paper that commemorates the longtime friendship and productive dialogue between the artist and Sol LeWitt. This selection of over 200 works and articles of ephemera, A Friendship: Carl Andre’s Works on Paper from the LeWitt Collection, is displayed in vitrines specifically designed by the artist and presented in two rotations. The first part, up now, presents Andre’s correspondences with LeWitt, while the second part (October 24, 2014–March 2, 2015) focuses on Andre’s poetry. The show uses only natural light due to the sensitive nature of the paper, but it works quite nicely once your eyes adjust.

A Friendship: Carl Andre’s Works on Paper from the LeWitt Collection is on view through October 18, 2014 at the Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton (Corwith Avenue off Main Street). While you’re there, make sure to go upstairs and see the permanent  exhibition of Dan Flavin’s incredible florescent light sculptures.