The Arts Center at Duck Creek in Springs will present two new exhibitions this weekend and a series of live music throughout the summer.
“John Little: Home Again” is an intimate survey of paintings by artist John Little (1907 – 1984), opening to the public on June 12 and will remain on view through July 18.
This exhibition will feature works dating from 1948, the year Little bought Duck Creek Farm. An exhibition catalog prepared by Thomas McCormick describes in detail Little’s reverence for this beautiful property and the burgeoning art scene on the East End in the 1950s.
John Little was born in 1907 in Alabama and as a teenager attended the Buffalo Fine Arts academy. Soon after he moved to New York City. In 1951 he moved to East Hampton, where he maintained a closed friendship with Jackson Pollock, and the two had a joint exhibition at Guild Hall in 1955. Little continued to actively exhibit until his death in 1984, including a retrospective at Guild Hall in 1982, two years before his passing.
Duck Creek will also present “Sunsets on Mars are Blue,” a three person exhibition featuring paintings by Kylie Manning, Jay Miriam, and Grace Metzler, opening in the June 12 and on view through July 18.
The works in this exhibition find their place between figuration and abstraction, and focus on the concert of constructed realities. All three artists create worlds that determine what feels real, rather than what is connected to reality, and whether there is a difference. The works contemplate our relationship towards time and each other, and attempt to evoke a sense of humor within heavy spaces.
In organizing this show, Kylie Manning pays homage to Elaine de Kooning and Lee Krasner, and the history of the East End as a magical outpost for misfits and introverts. ”Frequently referred to as the End of the World, it feels like the perfect place where people might intuit the otherworldly quality of our work,” she said.
Gallery hours are Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 2 to 6 PM and by appointment.
The Arts Center at Duck Creek’s music series continues with a Family Day Concert featuring The Kalia Vandever Quintet on Monday, June 14, from 5 to 7 PM. The series will continue throughout the summer and include performances by Joel Ross Parables, María Grand, and more.
The music events are free. Space is limited, so guests are encouraged to arrive early, bring a beach chair, food, drink, and enjoy a picnic.