A Magical Day at Ditch

Tripoli Gallery in Wainscott will open its end-of-summer show, “A Magical Day at Ditch!” with a reception on Friday, August 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. The collective exhibition runs through September 18 and highlights work inspired by the iconic surfers’ beach at Ditch Plains in Montauk. It is a continuation of the gallery’s 2017 summertime show entitled “Summer Trip.” Both shows were curated by St. Louis-based painter, Katherine Bernhardt, and both focus on summer love and the multi-faceted realities of summer living. Participating artists are: Katherine Bernhardt, Katherine Bradford, Sabra Moon Elliot, Vaughn Davis Jr., Travis Fish, Jason Fox, Marcus Jahmal, Yung Jake, Deborah Katon, Dan McCarthy, Scott Reeder, Adrianne Rubenstein and Jerry Wilkerson.

“A Magical Day at Ditch!” allows viewers to question the essence of the excellent, if short, summer season. It addresses elements that epitomize the summer by exploring what makes it so much fun. The selected artwork reveals what more than a dozen artists have dreamed up when creating summer-themed art. From the solstice onwards, so much of this season has to do with water: swimming, surfing, sailing and the beach. For many, summer might mean afternoons at friends’ pools, catching up as you sip lemonade, or having fun falling into the sand at the beach while chasing dogs and a frisbee. Summer can also include a BBQ on a parent’s patio or staying up late after getting too much sun. There is also surfing, one’s personal visceral contact with the universe’s lunar-controlled pull of water in the form of salty foamy crashing waves.

Contrary to its name, a trenched “ditch” or a flat “plain” have little to do with “A Magical Day at Ditch!” Ditch Plains is a strip of treasured dunes, bluffs and exclusive outdoor seaside culture. Surfers and their crews have congregated here since the 1960s, and it’s where big money hangs out today. The beach itself has been created thanks to many gifts from Mother Nature including her swirled up purple sands created from thousands of wampum shells crushed into fine powders from the waves. Ditch is a secluded paradise at “the end” of Long Island; and “A Magical Day at Ditch!” is a cool show that lends space for contemplating the end of summer and all its wondrous elements.

Tripoli Gallery is located at 26 Ardsley Road, Wainscot (enter via East Gate Road). For more information, visit tripoligallery.com.