'A Brand New Day' By Quentin Curry

“A Brand New Day,” a solo exhibition by artist Quentin Curry, opens with a reception at AB NY Gallery in East Hampton on Thursday, July 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. This new body of work encapsulates seven years of Curry’s exploration across painting and sculpture in work populated by surfers, surfboards, birds, dogs and clouds.

“The surfer is now a recurring theme of my painting practice. During a phone call in 2015, I was inspired to begin scratching on a piece of paper. What began as a preconscious, repetitive free-form of squiggling doodles evolved until I drew a crude figure with a surfboard — something about this resonated with my passion for surfing and surfer culture, piquing my full curiosity,” Curry explained. “I decided to elaborate on this discovery with paint and color. This took on a life of its own, enabling me to explore this subject in the same way I pursue formal ideas within my painting process. The raw character of this subject allowed me to play with paint and color in an open manner, making the surfer paintings one of my favorite subjects and something I am consistently returning to.

“This work allows me to flow in any direction the painting calls for — not unlike the movement of surfer on wave. My subject, and the way it is painted is, mercurial and unpredictable. This allows for the freedom to explore aspects of painting that I love — color/form/gesture/subject — ultimately to find malleability in the act of painting. I call them surfer paintings, but they are more like surf guides — within this body of work I found a trusted friend to whom I can return time and again to explore our mutual interest in painting.”

This installation will be on view through August 28 at AB NY Gallery, 62 Newtown Lane, East Hampton. For details, visit abnygallery.com.