Guild Hall Slate Of Upcoming Events

"Drop T Logo" by artist Kevin Teare. Image courtesy of Guild Hall

East Hampton - Guild Hall in East Hampton has announced some upcoming events during the Fall season, including films and art exhibitions:

Saturday, November 21
Crossroads Music Showcase presents Teen Night at 7 p.m. featuring Rite of Way, Philosophunk and The Glazzies, $10/$8 members.

Guild Hall To Keep Museum Open Through The Holidays
The Museum at Guild Hall will remain open during normal winter hours: Sundays 12 noon to 5 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5pm. Guild Hall will still close its offices and the John Drew Theater from November 22 to November 29 and from December 24, 2009 through January 3, 2010.

"The decision to keep the Museum open is in response to the disappointment voiced by our community and the artists currently being exhibited. These are extremely challenging times for us. We hope that by keeping the Museum open you will remember us in your giving," said Ruth Appelhof, Ph.D., executive director.

To mitigate the 2009 budget short fall, Guild Hall has cut operating expenses; is implementing two weeks of unpaid furlough for all staff; and, appealing for more fundraising support. To donate visit www.GuildHall.org, or call Development at 631-324-0806.

Founded more than 75 years ago, Guild Hall is the year-round visual and performing arts center wholly dedicated to serving the residents, members, families, and artists of the East End and offering them, as well as visitors and tourists, enriching experiences by presenting relevant and meaningful programs in the visual and performing arts, working in collaboration with artists, and providing a meeting place for the community.

Priscilla Heine - "Rough Red," 2007, Oil on Linen, 68" x 80".

Tuesday, December 1
Guild Hall and The Naked Stage present a staged reading at 7:30 p.m. - "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. Josh Perl, Lead Artist featuring Joe De Sane and an ensemble cast TBD. Free

Saturday, December 5
Kevin Teare "Upon This Rock" Winner Part II of Guild Hall's 69th Artists Members Show in 2007 which was juried by Faye Hirsch, senior editor, Art in America magazine. The show will open December 5 in the Woodhouse Gallery. There will be an Opening Reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Members from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., public welcome from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Also, Teare will do an 'In Conversation' with Pauline Sutcliffe, author of "The Beatles Shadow," and Dr. Christine Feldman, author of "We Are The Mods" from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The show features a series of oil on Mylar and vellum prints that have functioned as palettes for paintings Teare has, for the most part, long since discarded. Instead, he has found expression in the tension and synergy the residual drips, spills, dabbles and strokes of preparation have formed.

The Mylar and vellum prints are actual reproductions of different documents, some political others denoting music or reference to The Beatles. As palettes, the printed sheets serve as "hosts" for incubating expression. The final work depicts the organic energy of the artist before he actually engages with the canvas, capturing the raw fecund moment of possibility when the colors are mixed, squeezed, poured and massaged in preparation of the application of paint to canvas. This is the invisible spark of inspiration whose result is as yet unseen and undefined, but filled with purpose, intent and hope.

Teare is inspired by obsession, and has nurtured an obsession - about obsessive behavior as it applies to The Beatles, covert American history, uniform and symbol design, family systems, and pop-psych that serve as archetypes in his work. The exhibition will feature several pieces from his Beatles series, titled "The Most High." For Teare, the fulcrum of the last century was November 22, 1963. The day when John F. Kennedy was assassinated; Aldus Huxley died; and "With The Beatles" was released in England - all events that changed the world. The Mylar and velum prints reflect key aspects of these times. The show also includes collages and water colors, as well as oil on linen paintings.

Born in Indiana to a creative family, he vividly recalls the smell of linseed oil and the sounds of jazz constantly playing at home. In his family, most everyone, including his grandmother, painted. Teare moved to New York City to pursue art. At the age of 25 he was awarded a National Endowment Fellowship for Painting. He first ventured out to the East End to curate "JFK, Myth & Denial" with the gallery owner Rene Fotouhi. The show included the works of Mary Boochever, Larry Clark, Sue Williams, Kiki Smith and Andy Warhol, among others. Teare is a 2006 recipient of a Joan Mitchell Fellowship Award for painting. His first exhibition was at The Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1975. Since then he has exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. He lives with his wife the artist Mary Boochever in Southampton. The exhibition will be on view through January 17, 2010.

Tuesday, December 15
Guild Hall and The Naked Stage presents a staged reading at 7:30 p.m. - "Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge" by Christopher Durang at John Drew Theater. Free.

Friday, December 18
Sweet Adeline's Holiday Choral Concert at 8 p.m. at John Drew Theater. Free.

Saturday, December 19
Crossroads Acoustic Showcase Benefit at 8 p.m. at John Drew Theater, $15/$10 members. Celebrate and relax at this informal coffeehouse-style acoustic jam featuring many of the East End's best musicians playing together, with proceeds from the evening going to help benefit local food pantries. Refreshments, libations and holiday cheer will be served in the lobby throughout the performance. Come welcome the season with Crossroads Music and the talented artists from the community in this very festive evening of spirit and song at the new John Drew Theater.

Moran And Spiga Galleries: ac· qui· si· tion
Exhibition of works recently acquired by the museum runs through January 17, 2010. Works by Calvin Albert, Linda Alpern, Paul Brach, Stephanie Brody Lederman, Jennifer Cross, Peter Dayton, and Jim Dine.

Guild Hall Museum Hours: Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, 12 noon to 5 p.m., $7 suggested admission/members free. Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street in East Hampton. General Information: 631-324-0806. Theater Box Office: 631-324-4050 or BoxOffice@GuildHall.org/theatermania.com or 1-866-811-4111. Visit www.GuildHall.org for more information.