Dan's Papers - May 22, 2009 - Summer Guide to Art Museums and Fairs

In addition to its countless galleries, the East End is fortunate to harbor a handful of important art museums and international art events. With Memorial Day upon us, these institutions have already announced their main summer attractions.

The museum at Guild Hall in East Hampton will feature two artists this summer. Photographer Taryn Simon and renowned abstract expressionist Grace Hartigan will be showing in two different galleries of Guild Hall, and their respective exhibitions will open on June 17. Openings are free and a wonderful way to show your intangible appreciation of the visual arts, but if you wish to enjoy yourself while giving back to this great institution, there are many ways to do it. The Garden as Art fundraising event encompasses a love of art as well as a love of gardening. A $1,000 Garden Rose sponsorship includes a preview reception at the home of Martha Stewart on June 20, and a series of garden tours, lectures, meals and parties the weekend of August 28. The garden tours will take place at the homes and studios of some of the East End's most talented and well-known artists. Also, this year Art Hamptons will have its gala opening and collectors' preview to benefit Guild Hall on July 9 on the grounds of the Bridgehampton Historical Society (BHS).

Art Hamptons is an annual fine art fair featuring works from the 20th and 21st centuries. Over 60 nationally renowned galleries will be represented in four modular buildings on the BHS grounds July 10 to 12. The event is not to be missed if you are an experienced collector, or an aspiring one.

Another art fair occurring in the height of this summer season is SCOPE Hamptons, from July 23 to 26. This "Hamptons Weekend of Art," coined thus largely due to SCOPE's presence, will feature over 40 international galleries at East Hampton Studios in Wainscott. SCOPE will also present a program of screenings, performances and more throughout the weekend. With its focus on emerging art and galleries, it has greatly aided many now successful individuals and companies.

In addition to a packed schedule of performances and installations by new and established artists, the Watermill Center in Water Mill will be having its 16th annual Summer Benefit this same weekend, on July 25.

The Parrish Art Museum in Southampton will be having its Midsummer Party fundraiser two weeks earlier on July 11 to celebrate and honor museum trustee, Dorothy Lichtenstein. In the museum proper, the exhibition "Mixed Greens: Artists Choose Artists on the East End" will be on display until June 21. This varied show features painting, abstract to photo-realist, sculpture, and drawing. The Parrish's next exhibition, a solo show by photographer Jean Luc Mylane, will see them through the summer season. The photographs capture birds in simple, natural poses and offer a meditative approach to viewing the world.

The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, historic home to painters Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, is offering a wide variety of cultural sustenance, ranging from the academic to the expressive. Its "Lectures at the Fireplace Project" series will commence on June 28 with a panel discussion on Hedda Sterne and continue on successive Sundays until August 30. Many of the talks will focus in some way on Abstract Expressionism. A featured lecture by Adam Gopnik, essayist for The New Yorker and best-selling author, will take place on August 2 at Guild Hall. A selection of portraits by the avant-garde and abstract artist Sterne will be on display until July 25. On July 30 "Under Each Other's Spell," an exhibition that examines the relationship between the Gutai Art Group from Japan and New York artists in the 1950s, will open.

Be sure to take advantage of these great cultural institutions while enjoying the summer season.