Ben Fenske Solo Exhibition at Grenning Gallery

The Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor will host “Ben Fenske’s Annual Solo Show,” which opens with a reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 11, and runs through Sunday, September 8.

With more depth and ease than ever before, this year Fenske paints his muse, Amy Florence, and others in and around his home in Chianti. Fenske’s latest figurative work shows the people closest to him in their daily life — seemingly oblivious to him painting them — rather than posing like academic models. His painting “Amy, Buddy” is the perfect example of this. After sunbathing, Amy reaches down to pet a happy Buddy, as he rolls on the grass in delight. The magnificent Tuscan landscape, chock-full of tall cypress trees and a typical stone farmhouse, proudly sits atop the upper third of the canvas, crowning the composition.

Simple moments are heightened and romanticized in Fenske’s work, which recalls an important tenet of the 19th century impressionist movement. They often sought to elevate the everyday person in their work-a-day life, to offset the prior centuries when artists’ eyes were mostly focused on wealthy and powerful clients in their finery.

Fenske will be in attendance at the opening reception, and is back on the East End for the first time since 2021 where he will have the use of a studio space out here for the first time ever. Check in with the gallery between now and mid-October, as the paintings he will be creating here will be surfacing as he finishes them.

Grenning Gallery is at 6 Main Street, Sag Harbor. Visit grenninggallery.com for details.