Galleries : Abstract & urban at PIKNIK
Michael Hunter, owner of PIKNIK Art & Apparel in the Oak Bluffs Arts District, insists he didn't set out to shake up the Vineyard. "My shows are self-indulgent," he says, almost apologetically. "They're just an extension of me. I have a passion for the abstract and non-representational world."
Gallery goers mingled at the group show of abstract works at PIKNIK Art & Apparel during Saturday's Arts District Stroll. Photo by Lynn Christoffers
This summer, others who share Mr. Hunter's taste for the untraditional should make a concerted effort to stop by the smorgasbord of a fine art gallery, clothing, and accessories boutique he has created at 99 Dukes County Avenue in Oak Bluffs. For the past 14 years, he has lured customers with his extraordinary sense of whimsy, nostalgia, and cutting edge style. Last summer, demonstrating his ability to push the envelope in the Vineyard art scene, Mr. Hunter launched two new themed shows: The Abstract Event and The Urban Show. Both were resounding successes, he says.
From now through August 5, abstract art enthusiasts will find an arresting and varied mix of work from nine accomplished artists during the gallery's second annual event. And, from August 8 through 26, the gallery will host the second annual Urban Show, featuring nine artists' nods to metropolitan living and cityscape.
Barbara DuRant's earth-toned oil paintings. Photo courtesy of PIKNIK
This past Friday, the evening before the opening of the abstract show, Mr. Hunter surveyed the partially transformed gallery walls, running his fingers through abundant silver hair and scratching his beard thoughtfully. "The works speak to one another," he explained. "I start out with a blueprint of how I think the exhibit will hang and then it takes on a life of its own." Less than 24 hours before guests were scheduled to arrive, he planned to refresh the paint on exhibition panels and the gallery floor, hang the remaining pieces, and create a method to suspend Michele Ratté's luminous fabric sculptures.
Deejay Di, one of the Island's sought-after disc jockeys, had received her play list for the following evening, works from contemporary classical composer Philip Glass and experimental musician Laurie Anderson, chosen specifically by Mr. Hunter to complement the evening's theme. Calla lilies from a farm in Western Massachusetts were handpicked and hand-delivered by the grower. "Don't worry," Mr. Hunter assured me with a blend of confidence and resignation at the long night ahead, "It'll all come together."
By 5:15 pm on Saturday, July 18, the Arts District was alive with pedestrians popping in and out of neighborhood galleries. Women in flowing skirts and men in linen shirts sipped chardonnay as they absorbed the work and the energy of the opening. A crowd estimated "in the hundreds," according to a pleased Mr. Hunter, milled around PIKNIK's grounds, gallery, and boutique, sipping wine and exclaiming over Michele Ratté's fabric constructions that hung from the rafters and Barbara DuRant's moody, earth-toned oil paintings. Characterized by Mr. Hunter as a gathering of "more serious collectors," couples strolled, jotted down notes, and compared reactions to the array of carefully selected works. Mr. Hunter held court, warmly greeting friends, newcomers, and repeat customers, ushering them toward the sky-lit gallery that sits behind the property's main building.
Mixed media works on paper by Mercedes Nuñez. Photo courtesy of PIKNIK
Russell Sharon's vivid, large-scale landscape stands as a striking, iconic welcome near the gallery's entrance. Inside, Tom Stephens's heavily layered and complex oil and acrylic works are fascinating, vibrant and memorable - a testament, according to Mr. Hunter, to the unique talent and technique required to create a successful abstract work. Mercedes Nuñez displays an intensely personal point of view with mixed media collage on paper - works that invite the eye with a strong graphic presence and challenge the viewer to interpret.
Vineyard representational landscape painter Marjorie Mason "takes a refreshing vacation," says Mr. Hunter, in creating her soothing Tea Lane and Chilmark series of geometric abstracts, a surprise to many Vineyard art patrons who are unaware of her highly refined abstract work.
Island artist Michele Ratté uses glass beads, Turkish bells, beach rocks, and other objects to create these fabric assemblages.
In contrast, Barbara DuRant's oils in warm browns, golds, greys, and reds are arresting and dramatic, often conveying a sense of urgency and conflict. Abraham Brewster's contortions of the human form are surreal, somewhat disturbing, yet compelling. In counterpoint are the shimmering gold-laced fabric constructions by Island artist Michele Ratté, which employ glass beads, Turkish bells, beach rocks and other objects. Children and adults stand together in quiet awe of the three-dimensional assemblages Mr. Hunter aptly describes as "defying description."
Beatricia Sagar's mixed media collages on canvas are provocative yet peaceful, marrying strips of color, texture, and typography to create 14- by 60-inch totems, pieces that can stand alone or hang as a triptych.
Finally, Max Decker, the Island's wunderkind who has found a home at PIKNIK and a nurturing mentor in Mr. Hunter, contributed a sculpture - a plaster casting - that reflects his process toward creating a larger, more finished work.
The upcoming Urban Show, featuring artists Paul Norwood, Tom Stephens, Max Decker, Gaston Valin, Gregory Coutinhno, Anne McGhee, Traeger DiPietro, Adam Thompson, and Sherry Blalock promises to provide a dynamic, near-end-of-summer bridge back to the real world for Vineyard visitors and residents alike.
PIKNIK Art & Apparel: Abstract Event through August 5. Urban Show, August 8-26 in conjunction with Arts District Stroll.
Karla Araujo is a regular contributor to The Times.
