Southampton - "Embellishments" opened at The Studio on North Sea Road in Southampton this past Saturday, Sept. 5, featuring the work of three well-known East End artists. Featuring unique, yet complementary work, and curated and organized by artist and musician William Falkenburg, the exhibit features the work of digital photographer Joe Strand, sculptor Scott Partlow, as well as Falkenburg.

Artist Scott Partlow beside a sculpture he crafted out of wood from the extremely rare and virtually extinct American Chestnut.

"I got Joe and Scott together in this show because Scott's sculptures, my work and Joe's photographs all blend together in a very interesting combination," said Falkenburg while taking a break from entertaining guests with his piano the night of the opening reception. "I'm more of a drawer and I do mostly collage, Joe takes pictures and manipulates and hand-paints them. I'd like to take his work and collage them into my stuff."

Strand's vibrant and edgy pieces draw from a combination of disciplines, using photographs that were digitally manipulated and accented with collage and paint. "I went to Rhode Island School of Design and learned design and interiors and watercolors and etchings and all of those sensibilities give you avenues to just light things up, it's just a matter for you to pick the track and even pass it on," said Strand. "Some of the works are collage and some of them are hand-painted. It's like some of these images talk to you and with some of them you do elimination, others you do enhancement. This year more than anything else, I go back and paint them for the details and it's not meant to be obvious, it's just scribbles and this and that just because people might like the action."

Artist Joe Strand in front of two of his pieces. Strand chose as the subject matter of his work, things that he is passionate about in his life.

Explaining the subject matter of his work, which ranged from pictures of boats, motorcycles, cars, and abstractions of just about everything else, Strand said that they all have to do with his passions in life. "It started with obsessions. I restored boats, I had racing motorcycles that I had to put together when they were backyard specials with bailing wire and all the parts I could find. I have some cars that I built in the backyard, some are racers, some are lightly restored, so I just went back to those subjects in my art," he said, adding that "you have to keep it grounded and you have to make it work with your interpretation. It's like a parallel reality and you want to make your interpretation valuable. It's just to get to this ephemeral edge where someone says 'hey I like his interpretation of my reality.'"

Partlow, who sculpts predominantly in wood, had three pieces on display, each representing different themes that he was aiming to achieve. "They're all made from native wood, we really have some beautiful stuff around here. They are abstract things, I start cutting into them and depending on the wood grain and what it's doing shapes how the pieces turn out," he said. "This one is like a flower or a flame and I like that. That one over there I was trying to show motion and here I'm trying to be a modern artist guy and I think that looks cool mounted on a steel rod."

He explained that when it comes to shaping a particular piece, he lets the grain and nature of the wood guide him to the finished project. "Wood is beautiful, it's alive and there is a lot going on in it, you get the same thing with a nice piece of stone. It kind of tells you what to do, I mean you have to have some idea of what you're going to do but it really depends on the wood."

In addition to organizing, curating and participating in the exhibition, which features some of his own unique drawings and collages, William Falkenburg also acted as the musical act for the evening, enchanting viewers with his piano playing. Caption Here

One piece in particular had an interesting story: it was carved from American Chestnut, which is unique because, save for a few specimens, the species went extinct nearly 80 years ago due to a blight that to this day prevents the trees from growing to any significant stature. "This piece is made from American Chestnut, which has been extinct for about 80 years. There was a blight in the early 1930s that killed almost every Chestnut tree. I got it from a guy in Patchogue who had it in his barn and had it sitting there for 80 years, as two half rotten logs."

Falkenburg's drawings are numerous and detailed. Each collage requires the viewer to spend a great deal of time deciphering the numerous images cleverly formulating one image.

While each piece works beautifully on its own, the work of all three artists works well in the space together, creating an interesting, eclectic and edgy exhibit.

The show continues through Sept. 20, and is open daily from 12 noon to 6 p.m. There will be an additional reception held on Friday, Sept. 11, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with live piano music from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information or an appointment (Monday-Thursday) call 631-537-9455 or 631-566-0691. The Studio is located at 848 North Sea Road in Southampton.