‘Spring Greens’ show opens at Parrish Art Museum

Along with the work of local artists, the opening this weekend of the Parrish Art Museum’s invitational exhibition, “Mixed Greens: Artists Choose Artists on the East End,” will be showcasing the work of a local band.

The opening reception at the Southampton museum on Saturday, April 18, from 6 to 9 p.m. will feature the music of the xframes, a self-described “garage/experimental/punk” band that includes painter Peter Dayton, one of the artists in “Mixed Greens,” Jameson Ellis, and Stan Stokowski. The band will perform in the museum’s concert hall starting at 7:15 p.m. as part of the reception. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be available.

A panel discussion moderated by Parrish Director Terrie Sultan at 6 p.m. will precede the reception and performance. Exhibiting artists John Alexander, Jessica Benjamin, Stephen Laub, Jody Pinto, Michelle Stuart, and Donald Sultan, the brother of the museum director, will take part in a free-ranging conversation about the East End art community. Both the panel discussion and reception are open to the general public. Admission is $7, or free for museum members.

For “Mixed Greens,” which will remain on view through June 21, the Parrish solicited online entries from local artists, receiving more than 260 responses. Nine prominent East End artists were invited to review the submissions, make studio visits, and ultimately select a single finalist each. The selected artists live in Amagansett, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Southold, Springs, Wainscott, and Water Mill.

The exhibition will include works by both the artists who made the selections and the artists selected.

John Alexander chose Jessica Benjamin; Michael Combs picked Randall Rosenthal; April Gornik gave the nod to Lucy Winton; Mary Heilmann selected Frazer P. Dougherty; Richard Kalina tapped Peter Dayton; and Michelle Stuart chose Jody Pinto.

Also, Donald Sultan selected Stephen Laub; John Torreano picked Kevin Teare; and Joe Zucker chose Ellen Wiener.

By inviting artists to select other artists, encouraging studio visits, and presenting works by the jurors alongside pieces by the artists they selected, the museum sought to fulfill its mission of helping to foster a sense of community consistent with the area’s distinctive artistic heritage while providing a 
showcase for local talent.

Selected artists will deliver gallery talks about their work at 2 p.m. on three Saturdays in May: Jessica Benjamin, Peter Dayton, and Frazer P. Dougherty on May 9; Stephen Laub, Jody Pinto, and Randall Rosenthal on May 16; and Kevin Teare, Ellen Wiener, and Lucy Winton on May 30. The gallery talks will be free with museum admission.

Four films by or about East End writers and artists will be screened during the exhibition: “Capote” on May 8, “Pollock” on May 15, “The Door in the Floor” on May 22, and “Before Night Falls” on May 29. All screenings will be at 7 p.m. on Friday evenings; tickets are $7, or $5 for museum members.

“Mixed Greens” has been made possible, in part, by grants from Dorothy Lichtenstein, Barbara Slifka, and Suffolk County under the auspices of the Office of Cultural Affairs, with additional support from the Evelyn Toll Family Foundation, Lisa and Ciaran O’Kelly, and Susan and Louis Meisel.