Personalize Your East End Home with Art from Local Galleries

“Art is subjective” is a statement we can all agree on. What better way to put your own personal touch on your home than to hang whatever-you-consider-to-be-beautiful art on the wall? And what better place to come by that art than in a local art gallery? East End galleries are full of work—from exciting, young artists to established masters—all looking for a new space to hang. And don’t forget, galleries are also open for passersby to take a peek.

Marquee Projects in Bellport is now showing Deep Time, artwork by Rosalind Tallmadge through July 22.

14 Bellport Lane, Bellport. 631-803-2511, marqueeprojects.com

Lawrence Fine Art Gallery (LFA) specializes in Contemporary and Historic-Modern Art, with an eye to quality. LFA works with clients, be they collectors, decorators, institutions or just someone looking to enjoy fine art, to find the right work, either from their extensive inventory or secondary contacts. They’re always interested in buying quality works.

37 Newtown Lane, East Hampton. 516-547-8965, lawrence-fine-arts.com

Sara Nightingale Gallery is a project space in Sag Harbor that strives to present significant and challenging contemporary art across all media. Since 1998, owner/director Sara Nightingale has worked with emerging and mid-career artists to exhibit and promote their work, develop their careers and to expose them to new markets and opportunities.

Two new exhibitions are opening Saturday, June 30 and run through July 26. Paton Miller’s Paintings depict ordinary scenes enhanced by his unique inventiveness. Inspired by world travel, as well as domesticity and family life, Miller employs an earthy, neutral palette, reinforcing his connection to nature and the outdoors. Human figures, as well as animals and invented “species,” populate his canvases (as seen in the top image).

These subjects bring to life Miller’s allegorical narratives that reference other places in other times. Several motifs appear repeatedly in his works: waves depicted as triangular blocks of color, mules and other animals carrying objects on their backs, boats, water and exotic foreign landscapes.

Pulchritude, a word that sounds ugly, but means “beauty.” Monica Banks’s latest series of porcelain confections and celebratory cakes embrace this paradox. Rendered in sumptuous pastel hues, her ceramic monuments to domesticity examine ugliness, tragedy, creepiness and asymmetry, qualities that beauty must inherently contain in order to be deeper and more meaningful than mere “prettiness.” Banks’ reflections on problems in the world at large inform her depiction of tiny figures within, and on top of, the confections.

26 Main Street, Sag Harbor. 631-793-2256, saranightingale.com

The Art Barge was the creation of Victor D’Amico, founding director of education at The Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1937 to 1970. The Barge’s newest exhibition, The Finder’s Eye, on view through July 28, is a small survey exhibition of artwork by 11 historic and contemporary artists who have employed found materials in two- and three-dimensional work. The show, guest-curated by Teri Kennedy, features art from Scott Bluedorn, Rossa Cole, Aurelio Torres, Doris Lerman and others.

110 Napeague Meadow Road, Amagansett. 631-267-3172, theartbarge.org

Gallery Valentine in East Hampton specializes in the acquisition and sale of major works by modern and contemporary artists. The gallery showcases a diverse list of internationally established artists such as Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, John Chamberlain, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and many others. Open year-round, Gallery Valentine exhibits outstanding artworks in an approachable and friendly atmosphere and offers clients unparalleled advice for acquiring art—whether for someone contemplating a first purchase or a seasoned collector looking to make an addition to an already well-established collection.

33 Newton Lane, East Hampton. 631-329-3100, galleryvalentine.com