It Is All About WATER
September 30 to November 7, 2020
139 South Country Road, Bellport NY
Curated by Elizabeth Fiore and Melissa Feldman
Renate Aller Isca Greenfield Sanders Elliott Puckette
Agnes Barley Melora Griffis Edward Quigley
Katherine Bradford Tom LaDuke Katia Read
Gordon Coster Herbert Matter Thiago Rocha Pitta
Loomis Dean Sean Mellyn Charlie Scheips
Don Eddy Malcolm Morley Flip Schulke
Roland Flexner Donna Moylan Janaina Tschape
Adam Fuss Scott Reeder Val Valentine
April Gornik Jack Pierson
The Storefront is proud to present It Is All About WATER organized by The Storefront owner Melissa Feldman and art advisor Elizabeth Fiore. It Is All About WATER is a celebration of water in its many forms, interpreted in the abstract and literal sense as location, poetry, strength, meditation, playfulness and activity. Water plays a role in the life of every single human being and our natural reliance on water makes it a fundamental part of the everyday – a common thread uniting the world.
Each artwork explores water in a unique way with representations in gouache, oil and acrylic paint, ink, charcoal, graphite, photography, and mixed media. The creation of many of these works would not have been possible without water used in the process, to dilute and blend color or hand-process vintage photographs.
Malcolm Morley, Katia Read, Elliott Puckette, April Gornik and Janaina Tschape all have ties to the area and the influence of the Great South Bay and East End are evident in their works. The local light especially emanates from Morley’s print and the oceanscapes of Read, Puckette, Gornik and Tschape are familiar in these surroundings.
Wolfgang Tillmans, Jack Pierson and Renate Aller’s photographs show the real and dramatic differences the ocean landscape can portray. Artists such as Katherine Bradford, Don Eddy, Isca Greenfield-Sanders, Melora Griffis, Sean Mellyn, Donna Moylan, Scott Reeder, and Charlie Scheips imagine very different landscapes with their diverse and playful artworks. Agnes Barley and Tom LaDuke particularly abstract water in their waves and drops.
Roland Flexner and Thiago Rocha Pitta’s works have a reliance on water in the creation of their works. Flexner’s delicate drawings are dipped on the water’s surface to transfer the medium onto the paper. Rocha Pitta collaborates with nature combining watercolor with the necessary evaporation of water to create the cyanobacteria bloom.
The vintage surf photographs of Val Valentine are iconic portraits of surf culture in the 1960s on Oahu’s North Shore and introduced the rest of the world to Hawaii as a quintessential surfing destination. Other photographers in the show include Gordon Coster, Loomis Dean, Edward Quigley, and Flip Schulke who visit the vast subject of water in an intimate manner. Working with traditional photogram techniques, Adam Fuss adds a modern interpretation to this roster of influential photographers.
The Storefront in Bellport opened its doors in mid-July. The three level space located at 139 S. Country Road features an art gallery with guest-curated shows, a bookshop serving tea upstairs, and a boutique downstairs.
The Storefront is run by Melissa Feldman who hails from the art world. After studying art history at NYU Melissa worked first for Leo Castelli and Larry Gagosian and a few smaller galleries in between including a gallery space in Florence, Italy. In 1997 Melissa started MF Productions and has produced art-related events large and small both nationally and internationally for the past 20+ years (check out mfproductions.com for more information). As event planning is on hold until next Spring Melissa decided to focus her energy on something new – hence the decision to open the Storefront.
Elizabeth Fiore founded her art advisory in 1996, with the aim of helping collectors navigate the complex and sometimes daunting art world. Before launching her career as an independent advisor, Elizabeth was the director of the Annina Nosei Gallery, where she nurtured a number of young artists, giving some, such as Ghada Amer, their first solo exhibitions. Elizabeth is a board member of the Fountain Gallery advisory team, a member of the Association of Professional Art Advisors (APAA) and ArtTable, and an active participant in the New York art scene. Profoundly at home in the art world, she takes pride in fostering clients’ enthusiasm and individual tastes in a way that is financially strategic and personally engaged.