Sometimes, just like the seemingly simple beauty of everyday objects, things come together perfectly. “The cube is at the same time a symbol of simplicity and complexity,” said Erno Rubik, creator of the famous Rubik’s cube. This sentiment also epitomizes how all the pieces came together for this year’s Hamptons Fine Art Fair taking place later this month from July 13 to 16 at the Southampton Fairgrounds.
It just so happens to showcase the historic Astor Place Cube as a “spinning” centerpiece of the show. The iconic sculpture is on loan and was transported from New York City for display at the multi-day event. Ironically, it is the perfect symbol of how life, and even art shows, evolve and unexpectedly results in simple perfection, even if it leaves you spinning as the famous sculpture does. Pablo Picasso’s work will be front and center with the largest display of important Picasso works ever assembled in the Hamptons, presented by London-based Shapero Modern.
“This year everything just fell into place,” said Rick Friedman, executive director of the show. “So many things serendipitously aligned to make this year’s show the largest, most outrageous show to date.”
There are 130 gallery displays in three large pavilions and 800 represented artists so attendees should bring their stamina. During your visit you can enjoy cocktails at the Museum Bar, one of three bars at the show, which is certainly going to be a hot spot.
It’s not just the size of the show worth noting, but the complex simplicity of all the layers working together. The show uniquely combines culture, collectibles, diversity, education, and entertainment all in one place. It was challenging to cull through everything on tap for the show and undoubtedly attendees will feel the same way. “Great art is never done, it’s just abandoned,” Van Gogh once said. This is exactly how guests will feel when they leave, satisfied but knowing there is more they could have experienced. Leave at least two days for the show.
Neil Anthony Edwards
Neil Anthony Edwards is a former NBA basketball player and up-and-coming artist with a unique style that jumps from the canvas. At 6’ 10” tall, he is hard to miss and so is his work which is bold and experimental. “I was honored to be chosen as part of the coveted Artist in Residence program at the show,” said Edwards. “I was told it means I am on the cusp of being a household name.” “Mara Au Natural” is one of the highlights that will be on display, a result of a collaborative piece with Grammy-nominated composer and renowned artist Ella Spira. Edwards creates his work in complete silence — a far cry from the din of fans in a sports arena. Art, like sports, require discipline and passion. His early years also impact his work. Brought up in Far Rockaway, both beauty and violence are reflected in “Lilith” and “Race.” Then, going to a whole other place is the “Creation of The Suit,” a painting featuring the image of Superman, demonstrating what Superman’s iconic superhero suit would look like as it was created. If you have a chance to talk to Edwards at the show, be ready to meet a true superhero. Just look for the tall guy next to Superman.
Andrew Cotton
Mixed media edgy brilliance is the best way to describe Cotton’s work featuring rock stars and abstract explorations with subtle yet powerful messages about life, love, and everything in between. Full disclosure, I discovered Cotton last year and own a piece he made for me featuring rock favorite Stevie Nicks. See his work and others in the Mazlish Booth in the De Kooning pavilion.
Candice CMC
Donuts. Who would imagine such a simple, well-known sweet treat can find a home on large-scale canvases creating mind-blowing art? Candice CMC’s pieces consist of hundreds of sharply focused doughnut images, arranged by the artist according to tone, colors, and intensity to create iconic portraits. She takes all the photographs herself and then brings famous images to life. From Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka to Marilyn Monroe you can’t help being drawn to her work. Her newest piece, “Donuts at Tiffany’s” is an homage to Audrey Hepburn and inspired by the actress’s famous role in the 1961 film, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” “I love the challenge of creating a portrait using only doughnuts as my palette,” she said. This past winter she had her first museum exhibition. Her work hangs in corporate and private collections worldwide.
Ceravolo
Elton John, Rod Stewart, and Alice Cooper are just three of the famous people that own Ceravolo’s paintings. Often called “the rock and roll painter” by the media, Ceravolo’s art splashed on the scene after he was commissioned to create five large-scale paintings of iconic rock stars for the lobby of the Palladium Theater in New York City. Jackson Browne, Neil Young, and other greats took over the walls. From that moment, Ceravolo hasn’t looked back. His larger-than-life oil and acrylic paintings always feature cultural icons in unusual situations. Both the work of Candice CMC and Ceravolo are represented by the well-known Ardt Gallery founded in 1983. Take time to visit the husband and wife owned gallery if for any reason you can’t make it to the show.
Daniel E. Zamore
Jumper Maybach (aka Ben Workman) is an artist who is all about love, acceptance, and supporting emerging artists who share his mission to spread love and end hate and intolerance in the world. One of these artists, Daniel E. Zamore, is making his Hamptons Fine Art Fair debut under the warm embrace of Jumper’s booth. A multidisciplinary artist, his work tells a story through his experience in media, illustration, photography, and sound art. His work themes vary from the fantastic and whimsical to the eerie, depicting moments rich in wonder and possibility. “My work is inspired from many things, from childhood books to punk rock culture,” said Zamore. “The pops of color in Warhol and Lichtenstein’s work and so many other influences.” Other emerging artists, including Pepe Serna, John Douglas, and Hanniel Levenson are all being shown, truly demonstrating how Jumper wraps his arms around new talent. Jumper’s love and art is also currently wrapped around a Mercedes Benz in Southampton, the ultimate luxury love hug.
M.S. Rau
“M.S. Rau, from New Orleans has the most jaw-dropping gallery at the fair,” said Friedman. Showing the top European impressionists and modern art, the planned display features all the masters, including Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Matisse, and Van Gogh. The largest booth, this 1,200-foot space is more like a museum with intense black walls as a backdrop and even an information desk. You may just forget where you are as you discover new ways of looking at some of the most famous paintings in the world. “It’s like the Metropolitan Museum is coming east for the weekend,” added Friedman.
Opening Night
The VIP Opening Night Vernissage benefiting Guild Hall will celebrate the start of the fair on July 13. Sponsored by Rivage Bal Harbour and The Residences at Six Fisher Island and hosted by Luxe Interiors + Design, it is a much anticipated and glamorous evening.
Tea Dance & LGBTQ+ Fundraiser
On Bastille Day, July 14, the mid-summer Tea Dance & LGBTQ+ fundraiser will be held at VIP Krasner Café. The colorful and artful celebration will bring together the LGBTQ+ community to benefit the Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer Foundation. The festive and distinctive Francophile theme will feature light bites and champagne cocktails. The event will also feature a blue-chip art silent auction.
2023 Hall of Fame
On July 15, five artists chosen by the fair committee will be inducted into the Hamptons Fine Art Fair 2023 Hall of Fame, presented by Weill Cornell Medicine. Local artists, Fay Lansner (Keyes Gallery, Sag Harbor), Cornelia Foss (MM Fine Art, Southampton), Tony Rosenthal (T. Rosenthal Art, Southampton), John Ferren (Findlay Galleries, New York), and Hans Van De Bovenkamp (RL Studios, Charlotte) will be saluted, with their art available for acquisition at the event and throughout the fair.
Shapero Modern
Shapero Modern, which is based on Maddox Street in the heart of London’s Mayfair, will showcase a significant selection of works on paper by Pablo Picasso at Booth 206-207. This year marks the monumental 50th anniversary of the death of the great Spanish-born artist and Shapero Modern will join forces with the Hamptons Art Fair to bring Picasso to the Hamptons. Along with Picasso, Shapero Modern will have fine art editions of American Pop heavyweights including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as Abstract Expressionists Helen Frankenthaler and Sam Francis and the Father of Minimalism: Frank Stella.
Bonner David Galleries
Bonner David Galleries showcases the contemporary work of several of their finest artists. Just days after his latest show opens at their New York location, abstract artist Max Hammond will exhibit many recent works based on his poetic inspirations from nature. Figurative artists Michael Carson, Ron Hicks, Melissa Peck, Joseph Lorusso, and Peregrine Heathcote will display new works while Shona sculptor Peter Gwisa’s sensual stone and glass artist Simon Waranch will display three-dimensional art. The rich palette of Francis Livingston brings to life urban scenes, while hyper-realists John Schieffer and Jane Jones complete the more realistic vantage point. Finally, abstract colorists Gail Morris and Quim Bove round out this initial exhibition.
Schinkel Fine Art
Schinkel Fine Art in 2016 opened a contemporary conceptual art gallery in the former Moross House Museum located in the oldest brick dwelling in Detroit. This National Historic Property, found in the heart of Detroit, focuses on mid-career artists including mother and son team, Linda Schinkel Rodney and Theodore Michael Schinkel. The artists create with original processes and currently have an artist residency at Cranbrook, an internationally renowned center for art, education, and science, in Bloomfield Hills, MI. National and international exhibitions include: Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Detroit, Tuscany, and London. Schinkel Fine Art, which will showcase at Hamptons Fine Art Fair, focuses on industrial yet refined work at the intersection of old world techniques and 21st century technology. The mother and son artist team’s work blurs abstraction and representation revealing nuanced perspectives and layered connections where “The medium is the message.” — Marshal McLuhan.
The Luxury Pavilion
The Luxury Pavilion is truly an exhibit within an exhibit that takes you beyond art on canvas. Featuring major luxury sponsors such as USB New York Wealth Management, Luxury Bazaar, and others one of the highlights are rare items from Heritage Auctions, a lead sponsor, and major Hamptons presence. Heritage will showcase pieces from across 46 collecting categories, including fine jewelry, contemporary prints by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring and sports collectibles. Luxury handbags will undoubtedly be a big draw. Perhaps the biggest attraction will be actor Alan Alda’s dog tags and combat boots from the cultural phenomenon TV show, “M*A*S*H” being auctioned to benefit the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. The lot will be open for early bidding on HA.com starting on July 5 prior to the July 28 auction. Heritage is at booth 118 in the Pavilion so talk to them about appraisals and your own collections.
The Laurent Collection
The Laurent Collection, a bespoke boutique dedicated to showcasing globally sourced, exquisitely handmade artisan lighting, will participation in the upcoming Hamptons Fine Arts Fair. The Laurent Collection will be showcased in the Luxury Pavilion as guests enter and leave the fair. Founded and curated by Nancy D. Georgs, the Laurent Collection is an exclusive repertoire of hand-made and hand-blown glass creations made in New York that exude a mid-century modern vibe. It stands as a testament to her relentless global exploration and distinctive taste. “My vision for the Laurent Collection is a platform that unites people through the universal language of art and sustainability,” Georgs said. “Every piece we curate is a love letter to the hands that made it and the planet that nurtured it. ‘See the light, let’s unite.’ That’s our mantra and our mission.” Join Georgs at the Fine Arts Fair’s Luxury Pavilion to experience the Laurent Collection’s curated masterpieces in person. Each piece will serve as a shining beacon of the Collection’s dedication to elevating and celebrating the convergence of global artistry, sustainable practice, and luxury living.
Astor Place Cube
One of the city’s most popular landmarks, the iconic “Astor Place Cube,” will be exhibited at HFAF. Guests can spin and take unique selfies with the 15 ft. “Alamo” cube, which was created by the late Southampton-based sculptor Tony Rosenthal.
The British Are Coming
David Hockney and Bridget Riley are featured in “The British are Coming” exhibit, curated by Blond Contemporary, devoted to the UK art legends. The show brings together works by both artists, from the beginning of their careers in the 1960s to today.
Cuban Art
This exhibit, presented by Alex Rosenberg Fine Art in collaboration with The American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba nonprofit, features seven leading Cuban artists. It portrays the beautiful and diverse demographic of the island. The gallery featuring these talented artists is owned by Carole Rosenberg who won a landmark court case that opened the doors for Cuban art to be shown in America. Artists include Belkis Ayon, Yoan Capote, Roberto Fabelo, Ever Fronseca, Manuel Mendive, and Esterio Segura.
A Tribute To Norman Rockwell
The “Dugout” is just one of the seminal images in Americana that will be on display as part of a large collection of Saturday Evening Post covers at the illustrated Gallery featuring 18 of Norman Rockwell’s iconic paintings that served as covers for the famous news magazine. This exhibit showcases 40 magazine covers in total, painted by Rockwell as well as Christian Leyendecker, John Ford Clymer, Maxfield Parrish, and more.
Lobby Club Room
Take a break on a mid-century chair and watch the action in the elegant Lobby Club Room gallery being hosted by Davidoff of Geneva and designed by Stella Union. This is the perfect place for people watching according to show organizers.
Blue-Chip Black Art
Blue-Chip Black Art — this museum-level exhibit, curated by Bill Hodges Gallery, features many leading African American artists, from the mid-20th century to current day. Artists include Norman Lewis, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Kara Walker, Sam Gilliam, Willie Cole, and more.
Dinosaur Art
A new category at the show, this is your chance to meet Max, presented by Doug Miller of Green River Stone. The 50-million-year-old 10-foot crocodile is making a big splash this year featuring dinosaur bones embedded in art. Dinosaur fossil fans who also love art won’t be disappointed.
Mostly Motherwell
Abstract expressionist Robert Motherwell was a prolific painter, printmaker, collagist, as well as a writer, editor, theorist, and educator who is included as one of the most original and influential artists of his time (1915-1991). This curated exhibit features a selection of paintings, works on paper and collages, anchored by the dramatic 80 x 96 inch canvas, “Untitled (Figure in Doorway),” Motherwell lived in East Hampton from 1944 to 1952.
Werner Drewes
“Werner Drewes: Pioneering American Abstraction” is a solo exhibit on display, curated by the William Havu Gallery, that features artist, printmaker, and teacher Drewes, one of the founders of American Abstraction.
Main Prospect
Hungry? There are endless food choices, including a food truck from Main Prospect restaurant in Southampton. Lunch and dinner are served each day of the show until closing.
With reporting by Jessica Mackin-Cipro.
