The Arts Center at Duck Creek in Springs presents “Natalie Edgar: 1970s Paintings” and “Francisco Daniel Cabrera: (Chemical) Paradise.”
The season’s opening exhibition, organized by curator and art consultant Juan Puntes, comprises a selection of abstract paintings and prints by Natalie Edgar from the 1970s. The exhibition highlights her singular approach to art and her boundary-breaking style, which has earned her a reputation as an artist who defied convention.
She explained that she “deepened the experience and continuity of the [picture] plane as treated in early Abstract Expressionism, expanding its power.” In 1978, Edgar, her husband Philip Pavia, a renowned sculptor and co-founder of The Club, and their two sons moved their studio barn from Southold, on the North Fork, across Peconic Bay to Squaw Road in Springs, just a stone’s throw from the Arts Center at Duck Creek.
“We are honored to share the work of our distinguished neighbor,” said Jess Frost, the center’s executive director. “Her imagery is a testament to her mastery of color and the activation of negative space. Her compositions feature striking color paths that captivate the viewer.”
The Arts Center at Duck Creek presents its first exhibition of the season in the Little Gallery, featuring works by local artist Francisco Daniel Cabrera. Cabrera embarked on this series in 2015. While employed at a gas station in Amagansett, a seemingly mundane interaction — a customer’s payment — unveiled an unexpected discovery: the compelling transformation of color on a receipt, caused by accidental smears of hand sanitizer.
Captivated by this phenomenon, Cabrera brought the idea home, weaving rolls of receipt paper into larger sheets. By activating the thermal material with chemicals and pigments, he unveiled imaginative, vibrant realms beneath the uniform white paper. In a convergence of surrealism and abstract expressionism, Cabrera employs unorthodox substances to conjure fantastical worlds from the delicate white paper.
Exploring the juncture of these artistic movements, he allows chemical reactions to unfold organically, guiding them to unveil hidden paradises. Through his choice of materials, viewers are prompted to contemplate the interplay of chemicals with contemporary American life, juxtaposing the concealed existences beneath the surface of those residing in an “American Paradise” with those who seek it through immigration. Francisco Daniel Cabrera, affectionately known as “Mijo,” which translates to “my son” in Spanish, was born in 1989 in Cuenca, Ecuador, and has resided in East Hampton since 2009.
A reception for both exhibits will be held on Saturday, May 11, from 5 to 7 PM.