The White Room Gallery Finds New Home in East Hampton

After eight years in Bridgehampton, The White Room Gallery has packed up its paintings and moved to a larger gallery space in East Hampton.

As much as owners Andrea McCafferty and Kat O’Neill loved the Bridgehampton location, with its sculpture gallery in front, they knew that “walk-by windows” were vital to the business’ continued success. “I had an actor friend who was driving a cab in NYC to pay the rent, and one day he told me that he discovered there was a ‘door-to-handle’ formula for success.

If you didn’t pull in just as the hand hit the handle, the potential customer would just go to the next cab. And that was before iPhones,” O’Neill explains. “Now with everyone so bombarded with stimuli the ‘walk-by windows’ dynamic is integral to competing with that endless source of intrigue in everyone’s hand.”

Besides the desire for more visible sidewalk appeal, the gallery owners needed additional storage and exhibition space for their growing lineup of artists. “Our roster of international artists has grown significantly, and we needed more space to showcase their work, as well as all the work of our domestic artists,” McCafferty says, noting that the space is nearly double that of the Bridgehampton gallery.

“The possibility of more storage space to accommodate additional art and endless crates was a must. You have no idea how valuable preserving a large crate is until you have to build one.”

The new East Hampton Village gallery is located at 3 Railroad Avenue, making it one of the first things people see upon exiting the train at the East Hampton LIRR station. Once travelers step inside, they will find that the gallery space “meanders in a beautiful way, which creates a more immersive experience,” O’Neill shares.

“We have one room we are calling the ‘dynamite room’ because it is small but explosive with larger-than-life icons and bookscapes that take you back in time. Another turn takes you to other artists who draw the viewer in with their own unique spins on what makes art. Our movable walls create more fun surprises to uncover, and even though we are the ‘White Room’ we painted some walls black to show how our collection can live beautifully on any collector’s canvas,” she continues.

“As we work with many interior designers, it is great to have more art visible to see how we curate pieces,” McCafferty says. “The same holds true for collectors. It helps to see pieces working together and, oftentimes, there are surprising pairings.”

East Hampton Village has always been a hub for great art and talented artists, such as legendary painters Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

“More than any other East End locale, East Hampton has the history of the great abstract expressionists like Pollock and de Kooning. Joe Stefanelli, one of our secondary market artists, showed with them. Going even further back, Thomas Moran, famed for convincing Congress to create the first national park, built the Hamptons’ first artist studio in East Hampton in 1884. That is some laudable history. East Hampton breathes art — Guild Hall, Mulford Farm, the film festival — and it also breeds high-end retail that attracts high-end collectors. Fashion and art go hand in hand. We have been credited with bringing ‘red hot art’ to the Hamptons, and collectors know red hot is cool.”

The White Room Gallery is now within a short walking distance of luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Chanel, Prada and Gucci. The gallery is also stepping into the world of high-end jewelry with an exhibition of Intuit line pieces featuring platinum, diamonds and precious metals.

For the East Hampton location’s debut art show, the owners have curated Colorful Interpretations, which will be celebrated alongside the gallery’s grand opening at a special reception on Saturday, November 4, 5–7 p.m. The celebratory event will include delicious bites and a signature cocktail, aptly called “All Colorful on the Eastern Front.”

“For the premiere exhibit, we wanted to celebrate the distinct hallmark of artistry, that which makes each artist unique — their point of view, simply put, how they interpret and execute that compelling and, at times, challenging inner voice,” O’Neill says of Colorful Interpretations. “To that we wanted to add another layer — the power of color. The theory of color fascinated philosophers like Aristotle and scientists like Newton for centuries. Da Vinci meditated under a purple light for inspiration. A study in the ’80s found that jail cells painted Pepto Bismol pink were found to alleviate aggression. And there’s a reason the backstage rooms are painted green, as green is not only seen better by the human eye than any other color in the spectrum, but it is proven to reduce the heart rate. Years later, Warhol, understanding interpretation, intrigue and his audience, used brighter color on Marilyn’s lips and eyes to draw the viewer to those specific points of allure.”

“The White Room has always been a blank canvas, open to a myriad of interpretations, and with this exhibit, that canvas comes to life with diamond-dusted femme-fatales, cafes, dancers and surfers in a style reminiscent of French impressionist Edgar Degas; Grey Gardens soup cans telling you that it’s ‘Time to play;’ and abstracts that twist and turn alongside sculptures that do the same,” McCafferty notes. “Add to that spiked heels underwater and mysterious sun-glassed women in tropical paradises, but we would be remiss if we did not applaud the 31st year of the Hamptons International Film Festival with an homage to the twins from The Shining, and Blockbuster. Some of the artists in the exhibit you will recognize, some are new to the gallery, emerging and established, together showcasing an engaging palette of imagery and interpretations that is nothing if not colorful.”

Colorful Interpretations showcases works by pop and abstract artists Russell Young, Nelson de la Nuez, Craig Alan, Seek One, Punk Me Tender, John Joseph Hanright, FRINGE, Cabell Molina, Robert Georgio, John Francis Gallagher, TRAN$PARENT, Chad Knight, Dave White, Joe Stefanelli, Gregory Goy and Paul D. Fuentes; prints by abstract and figurative photographers Markus Klinko, Greg Lotus, Lynn Savarese, Cedric Sequerra, Ecindy Stein and Bob Tabor; and sculptures by Kevin Barrett.

“Our roster is always evolving. Every collector is different, some believe less is more, while others see more as not enough. But that is art. It’s here to be enjoyed not judged,” McCafferty says. “We believe that moving to the village will not only bring our collectors from the west but will attract more collectors from Amagansett and Montauk.”

While O’Neill and McCafferty hope to get The White Room Gallery established as an East Hampton institution and “true destination space” — even wanting to re-introduce their “culture club” theater, comedy, music, literary and performance art events — they themselves have a massive head start in the community-building department.

“We both live in East Hampton, raised our children here, and so we are already part of the community and know every inch of the village,” McCafferty shares.

Following the grand opening reception on November 4, the gallery’s next community event is a fundraiser for Ukraine on Saturday, November 25, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

“We will have art and music presented by Ukrainian artists with half the proceeds going to the artists and half to Universal Aid for Children,” O’Neill explains. “Future exhibitions also soon to be announced as we exhibit year-round: Yesterday Today, Love the Hues, Ladies Who Lunch, Men at Work are just a few contenders.”

The White Room Gallery will fly south for the SCOPE Art Show in Miami, December 5–10, but the owners plan to return home in time to host a holiday gallery party for their East Hampton community.

“We look forward to many wonderful years with our new neighbors,” McCafferty adds.

The White Room Gallery is open Friday to Sunday, noon–5 p.m. at 3 Railroad Avenue, East Hampton. For more info, call 631-237-1481, visit thewhiteroom.gallery or follow the gallery @whiteroomgalleryeh on Instagram.