What’s On View at Eric Firestone Gallery East Hampton
Currently, in East Hampton, NY, Eric Firestone Gallery is presenting the first installation in a two-part exhibition concept titled “(Mostly) Women (Mostly) Abstract.” Open through September 17, the first iteration of the show features work by 22 cross-generational artists working in areas of abstraction. The array of paintings, sculptures, and works draws parallels between artists from different generations and examines how abstracted aesthetics and experimental techniques often represent a deeper narrative of “otherness” from the artists who create them—be it relating to gender, race, or sexual orientation.
“The incredible amount of intensely graphic and saturated colors throughout the installation are striking,” said gallerist Eric Firestone. “Each work creates a cohesive narrative though the artists are separated by time and experiences.”
Jenny Snider, “COVER-UP PAINTING,” 1971, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches; courtesy of Eric Firestone Gallery.
The Show Features Abstract Artworks Spanning Mediums and Decades
As the title suggests, a roster of mostly women artists can be seen on view, alongside other creatives working in abstraction, whose art aligns with the subject matter at hand—including those like Sally Cook, Judy Pfaff, Helen O’Leary, Jenny Snider, Despina Stokou, Reginald Madison, Keiko Narahashi, Pam Glick, and Kennedy Yanko, to name a few. Works on view span at least 50 years, creating a dynamic and energetic display of textures, surfaces, and dimensions that lead the viewer on a thoughtful journey of otherness to wonder, “What defines abstraction?”
Similarities between Yanko, Madison, and the late artist Joe Overstreet become apparent through works that are neither entirely painting nor sculpture—like Yanko’s twisted metal and paint skin configuration Unraveling. The compositional structures of Modernist paintings become blurred in work by Pat Lipsky, Richard Tinkler, and Glick. And reflections of decorative crafts and domesticity can be seen in works by women artists born in the 1940s and ‘50s, including Snider, Tamara Gonzalez, Nina Yankowitz, and Pfaff, whose 1988 three-dimensional Great Glasses is on view.
“Most of the work I like has a funny kind of storytelling,” Pfaff said in a past statement. “One’s life is in it: including the cleaning, the cooking, the child-caring. Women are beginning to see that they can talk about themselves. Right now, that is available. It never used to be.”
Judy Pfaff, “Great Glasses,” 1988, painted steel and wood, found objects, 108 x 96 x 60 inches; courtesy of Eric Firestone Gallery.
Other featured works include an Abstract Expressionist painting by Cook, ceramics by Narahashi, a bronze head sculpted by Sarah Peters,calligraphy-reminiscent florals by the Vietnamese-American artist Huê Thi Hoffmaster, Stokou’s combinations of brushwork and text, and flowers by Uday Dhar, who has described the works as being representative of gender fluidity and multiculturalism.
Part Two to Debut at Eric Firestone Gallery in New York City
After visiting the East Hampton exhibition, viewers should plan a trip to New York City for the second installation in “(Mostly) Women (Mostly) Abstract,” which opens on September 8 at Eric Firestone’s SoHo location.
Uday Dhar, “Black Eyed Susan,” 2000, Oil and Encaustic with pigment on Canvas, 20 x 28 inches; courtesy of Eric Firestone Gallery.
Despina Stokou, “Mein Liebes Kind,” 2023 oil, paper and mixed media collage on linen 59 x 43 inches; courtesy of Eric Firestone Gallery.
Richard Tinkler, “L5FB 14.2,” 2023, oil on canvas, 72 x 48 inches; courtesy of Eric Firestone Gallery.
