David Kushnir and Grant Haffner at Ashawagh Hall. Photos by Colin M. Graham

East Hampton - On Feb. 28, the Bonac Tonic Arts Collective kicked off their first show of the year at Ashawagh Hall with "2 Legit 2 Quit." The first in a series of two shows featuring work by some of the original Tonickers as well as pieces from emerging artists showing in the area for the first time including Grant and Carly Haffner, Matthew Brophy, Scott Gibbons, Elizabeth Karsch, Charles Ly, Christian Little, Oliver Peterson, Kate Nicolai, and Molly Weiss. Grant Haffner, one of the founders of Bonac Tonic and organizer of the energetic yet relaxed show, was showing some of his minimalistic but brightly colored landscapes and was thrilled with the turn out.

"Of all the shows we've done since we started in 2005, this is probably my favorite one so far," Haffner said as he cheerfully greeted and thanked friends and supporters for coming out to the show. "Most of us have worked and grown up together but this show feels like we're finally all in sync and we have a couple of artists who are showing with us for the first time. We want to make sure that young artists get seen, so we're always looking out for new talent."

Among the old guard showing that night was Scott Gibbons, whose plush creations decorated an entire room, both suspended from the ceiling, filling an alcove and adorning the walls in shadow boxes. The room, which featured some of Grant's mobiles, was called "The Room I Never Had" evoking his vision of a quintessential boy's bedroom. Gibbons, whose work is certainly innovative and strikingly original, didn't start out creating his collection of little monsters with the intent to show them. "It actually started out as a way to make inexpensive Christmas gifts for friends," Gibbons explained. "It was actually Grant's mom who taught me how to sew."

Brian Buckhout, Chad Crills, and Rachel Kleinberg admiring Carly Haffner's "Fuzz Land."

Oliver Peterson was showing "Phantasma" combining aspects of both collage and painting. "I don't really call what I do collage, even thought they kind of are," Peterson said. "I consider them paintings." The piece contained a variety of things Peterson finds or is given to him, everything from crushed cigarette packs to clothing labels mixed with painted designs and patterns.

One piece that seemed to dominate the space was a massive painting by Sag Harbor native Matthew Brophy, entitled "An Escape" done in wall paint and Sharpie marker. "I'm normally really strict with what I do in my paintings," he said pointing to some of his other works on the wall, "but I use this canvas to get away from my regular work if I find myself stuck on something else, but I think it works on its own."

Among those showing for the first time was Christian Little who teaches paper making at the Applied Arts School in Amagansett. His piece "The Shaman" combined both painting and some collage work, "I'm always saving scraps of all the paper I make so I can use it in my work," said Little. "I feel like it really makes the whole thing mine."

 • Part two of Bonac Tonic's "2 Legit 2 Quit" will have its opening night on Saturday, March 14 at Ashawagh Hall from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will feature new works and a new crop of participating artists.