Depot Gallery Brings Art & Community Together in Montauk

One of the more interesting gallery spaces on the East End, and a much-needed hub for the Montauk art community, Depot Gallery’s summer of shows is now underway.

Founded 26 years ago by jazz musician and artist Percy Heath in the former Montauk train depot at 285 Edgemere Street, the gallery has served as home to the Montauk Artists Association and a place to see excellent art from May to October. And this season is no exception.

Depot Gallery director and artist Donna Corvi explains that the Montauk Artists Association started with meetings in group members’ homes, taking turns to figure out ways to show their work. The breakthrough came when Heath’s wife introduced him to the MTA president who she had met at White’s Liquor Store, according to Corvi, who says the man gave the retired depot to the Association, adding, “They had a handshake deal, and lo and behold the depot was gifted to the Montauk Artists Association. Now they had a home. That’s where the Depot Gallery started. … It’s a wonderful story.”

The space now offers a vibrant schedule of events each year, including open artist member shows and juried exhibitions featuring some of the most compelling talents on the East End and beyond. “People who exhibit here are people who’ve just taken up art, or are new to art, and there are also really acclaimed and known people who show here. That’s why I love the space. It’s welcoming for people of all levels of art,” Corvi says.

The Depot Gallery mounts 12 shows during its season, each for two weeks, she explains, pointing out, “It’s a very hectic summer.” Additionally, Corvi says the Montauk Artists Association mounts two massive outdoor Art Shows on the Green in Montauk with many participating artists displaying art in tents, including paintings, photography, jewelry, sculpture and even ceramics. This year, the Art Show on the Green events are happening June 28–30 and August 16–18.

Along with art shows, Corvi says, they also hold one-to-three-hour artisan workshops, music nights, dramatic readings and more throughout the summer and fall.

“In the past we didn’t really think to make much about the music and I always wondered why because Percy was a musician as well as a painter,” she muses. “In honor of his memory, we’re trying to bring music back.”

The workshops are a hands-on part of the summer schedule.

“We mix it up,” Corvi says, noting that they had a successful glass workshop last season with artist and board member Teresa Lawler, so she will return to teach glass fusing this year. The Depot will also offer a color theory workshop and, hopefully, a ceramics class that will utilize the on-premises kiln.

The first full length show of the season is the members exhibit, The End 1 — where each artist submits one or two pieces depending on size — but the Depot Gallery also held a weekend-long show of East Hampton High School AP students’ art last weekend. “The artwork they did is mind blowing. … For them it’s super, super exciting and we’re happy we can do that for them,” Corvi says, noting that the MAA also give out two $250 music scholarships each year to local students, in honor of Heath.

Corvi is quite thrilled about the lineup this summer following the non-juried Members Exhibit. “I’m really tickled pink because we have some really wonderful people,” she says. Among the highlights, she says David Slater is exhibiting June 20–July 2 and Nathan Slate Joseph will be showing with work by the late, great David Geiser August 1–12. From September 12–23, four photographers will present very different styles of work in the same medium, including complex, in-camera photo collages by Tom Carroll, Old Masters-like portraits of flowers by Lou Spitalnick, aerial images by Alex Ferrone and unforgettable landscapes by Richard Silver. Corvi herself is showing with pastel artist Mary Daunt and sculptor Sally Richardson July 4–15, and three of gallerist Julie Keyes’ artists — Fay Lansner, Mark Heming and Mustafa Maluka — are showing July 18–29.

The season, which has several more shows, will conclude with a second non-juried members exhibit, The End II, from October 10–21.

And once the Depot Gallery is closed, Corvi says they remain engaged with the community, adding, “We even march in the St. Patrick’s parade.”

Learn more about the gallery at montaukartistsassociation.org.

-PARTNER CONTENT