Art Gallery Reaps "Local Yield"

By Aline Reynolds

One of five works in the show by Tom Connor of Water Mill.

Bridgehampton - Jumpstarting the Hamptons' summer season, the snazzy Gideon Stein gallery, centrally located at 2297 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton, hosted "Local Yield: A Collection of Recent Paintings and Sculpture by Local Artists" featuring East End contemporary artists Tom Connor, Lynn Dunham, Hunter Herrick, Dennis Leri, and Scott Partelow on Saturday, May 24. Local Yield marked the second multiple-artist exhibit since the venue's inception in August 2007.

The gallery opened up shop last summer with father Richard Stein, a renowned hair stylist from England who has coiffed American celebrities such as Paul Newman, Barbara Streisand, Winona Ryder, and Glenn Close, among others as part of Gideon's team.

Gideon Stein, owner and curator of the gallery and abstract artist himself, stressed the uniqueness of this local artists show in its eclectic, harmoniously juxtaposed assemblage of artwork. Gideon mentioned that, in curating Local Yield, his main objective was to "reconcile many different styles of art together" in a way that melded painting and sculptures of both established and emerging artists, both representational and abstract art in an intimate two-room and expansive garden setting.

Wood sculpture by Scott Partlow.

To complement the dynamic Stein duo's intimate double-room space in the gallery's interior, Gideon has launched the gallery's outdoor sculpture garden.

"I'm influenced by numbers," Gideon reported, in alluding to Local Yield as the gallery's third all-time exhibition. Gideon mentioned that the number three is an "indivisible, iconic number" that can be associated with the Holy Trinity and the pyramids. The younger Stein added that the "overwhelmingly positive response" to Local Yield has received so far is "extremely encouraging, especially given that the gallery is still in its early stages."

The current exhibit, on view until Wednesday, June 11, features the prominent works of artist/blogger Lynn Dunham, maritime oil painter Tom Connor, 23-year old emerging sculptor and filmmaker Hunter Herrick, large-scale outdoor abstract sculptor Dennis Leri, and sinuous wood sculptor Scott Partelow.

Southamptonite and "process oriented" artist Lynn Dunham, representative and principle adviser of the Mark Borghi Gallery in Bridgehampton, according to Gideon's website, "incorporates principles of abstract expressionism, minimalism and conceptual thinking." Dunham is exhibiting a bountiful cluster of sixteen pieces in this show, including the soothing, abstract multi-colored "Hamptones" and the intricately textured mixed-media painting "Sharpography".

Water Mill resident Tom Connor, meanwhile, is presenting five of his maritime paintings at the show, suitably entitled "Alden Malabar Schooner," "At the Inlet," "Bali Beach," "American Atlantic Schooner 1905," and "M-boat," which incorporate both figurative and realistic elements to create a scenic coastal atmosphere reminiscent of the South Fork's picturesque landscape. As Gideon phrases it on his website, "Tom's work reminds us of timeless relaxation, the sea, and why we love the Hamptons."

Young Westhampton Beach inhabitant, Hunter Herrick, exhibited "Untitled Box," "Figure," and the large-scale steel installation "Schoonerscape Metropolis," the latter two of which were exhibited for the first time. Herrick claims that art chose him, not the other way around, and that he as the artist serves as a "vessel" for its formation. The sculptor alluded to his eagerness in exhibiting his work in this venue for the first time. "It's like laying a footprint," he said, "in a gallery that is still in its birthing stage."

An abstract by Lynn Dunham.

Springs resident Dennis Leri is an abstract metal sculptor who is currently featuring "Arrival/Departure" and the aluminum wall sculpture "New York Decaf" at the Gideon Stein Gallery. While the former large-scale structure blends myriad symmetrical shapes, the latter piece is an attention-grabbing collage of New York "found" objects, such as fragments of sliced coffee cans and a New York license plate, mounted on polished aluminum.

Finally, long-time Bridgehampton sculptor Scott Partelow's "Tall Blond" stole the show. The structure is a twisting piece made out of spalted sugar maple wood mounted on a monolithic concrete beach anchor that wowed the audience with its smooth, curvy frame and its camouflage presence.

Saturday evening's opening of Local Yield received strong accolades from the attendees. Gideon overheard a conversation between long-time East End residents and art admirers that went something like: "This is what it must have been like when Pollack and DeKooning were hanging out with their friends in the 1960s Springs!"

Apart from wishing to provide entertainment for the East End community, Gideon mentioned his aim of "filling the void" of the sorely missed, neighboring Elaine Benson Gallery.

The talented and charismatic Stein duo will be hosting a fundraiser show in July for the Audra Allen Foundation for Chimp Rescue and Art Rehabilitation to assist Audra "in her quest to build a chimp sanctuary in East Hampton."

For more information, click here.

To learn more about the Gideon Stein Gallery and the founding curator/artist himself, visit his website www.gidstein.com. For more information on father Richard Stein’s hair sculpting services, visit his website at www.richardsteinhair.com.