We all know the East End is flooded with super famous, super cool artists whose works adorn the walls of some of the most famous museums and cultural centers around the world.
On the South Fork, one of its long-standing, locally driven and multidisciplinary cultural centers is none other than Guild Hall, and best believe they got something super cool coming up.
The newest installment of the Artist Members Exhibition (AME) opens to the public on Sunday, October 29. A tradition that’s been carried on for more than the past eight decades, the exhibition features a vast majority of mixed media works, paintings, sculptures and drawings from the East Hampton locale’s artist members.
Both firmly established, nationally and internationally recognized professional artists will display their works side by side with some of the Hamptons’ newly emerging, first-time exhibitors together in one show. Over 300 works are slated to be on display and the exhibition will be on view through January 8 of next year. Not only will local artists have an opportunity to show their work, they’ll also have the ability to sell it via an online platform throughout the duration of the exhibition.
Sag Harbor resident Sara DiOrazio is one such newcomer, becoming a member at Guild Hall this year and who was also a participant of the annual clothesline sale this past spring.
“Although I am brand new to it,” she says, “I’m excited. I’m thrilled to be participating in more established exhibitions throughout the community.”
Each artist is allowed to submit one piece of their work to the AME. The work had to be completed within the last five years and can’t be a piece that was previously shown at Guild Hall. In addition to their annual membership dues, artists pay a $50 entry fee to participate in the AME.
Of the submitted works, there’ll be a “Top Honors” award winner, with several pieces receiving honorable mentions. Part-time East Ender Virginia Lebermann, board director and co-founder of Ballroom Marfa — a contemporary art museum located in Far West, Texas — will serve as this year’s juror responsible for picking the Top Honors winner.
Now in its 84th installment, the exhibition has the distinction of being the” oldest non-juried museum exhibition on Long Island,” according to a press release from Guild Hall.
Beginning in 1938, a mere seven years after the multidisciplinary cultural center was founded, past featured artists included Lee Krasner, Willem de Kooning, Alfonso Osorio and Jackson Pollock, to name a few.
Also opening on October 29, Guild Hall will feature East End artist Mary Boochever, the Top Honor prize winner from 2019, with her solo exhibition “Chart of the Inner Warp” on view in the Marks Family Gallery North.
“Deeply rooted in research and investigations of color systems, Boochever creates visual experiences for the view through her paintings, sculptures and installations,” the press release says.
Both galleries are open from Friday to Monday, from noon to 5 p.m. and admission to the museum is free.
