Bye Bye Bridge, Hello East

After eight years in Bridgehampton, The White Room Gallery is relocating to a larger space in East Hampton. Located at 3 Railroad Avenue, the new location is across from the train station, and gallery owners Andrea McCafferty and Kat O'Neill will hold a grand opening reception at the space on Saturday, November 4, from 5 to 7 p.m.

For the premiere exhibition in the new location, “Colorful Interpretations,” McCafferty and O’Neill wanted to celebrate the distinct hallmark of artistry, that which makes each artist unique — their point of view, simply put, how they interpret and execute that compelling and, at times, challenging inner voice. To that, they wanted to add another layer — the power of color.

“The theory of color fascinated philosophers like Aristotle and scientists like Newton for centuries,” noted the gallery owners in a release. “Da Vinci meditated under a purple light for inspiration. A study in the 1980s found that jail cells painted Pepto Bismol pink were found to alleviate aggression. And there’s a reason the backstage rooms are painted green as green is not only seen better by the human eye than any other color in the spectrum, but it is proven to reduce the heart rate.

“Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky said, ‘Color is a power which directly influences the soul.’ English painter David Hockney said, ‘I prefer living in color.’ And Russian-French artist Marc Chagall said, ‘Color is all. When color is right, form is right,” they continued. “Color is everything, color is vibration like music.’ Van Gogh studied color theory to discern how colors worked and learned that complementary colors like red and green, yellow and purple and blue and orange intensify one another. Years later, Warhol, understanding interpretation, intrigue and his audience, used brighter color on Marilyn’s lips and eyes to draw the viewer to those specific points of allure.”

The White Room has long been a blank canvas, open to myriad interpretations, noted McCafferty, “and with this exhibit, that canvas comes to life with diamond dusted femme-fatales, cafes, dancers and surfers in a style reminiscent of French impressionist Edgar Degas, Gray Gardens soup cans telling you that it’s, ‘Time to play’ and abstracts that twist and turn alongside sculptures that do the same.

“But we would be remiss if we did not applaud the 31st year of the Hamptons International Film Festival with an homage to the twins from ‘The Shining’ and Blockbuster who went from 9,000 locations in 2004 to one in 2022 with each closing door repeating the same refrain ‘Why the hell didn’t we buy Netflix when we had the chance?’”

Some of the artists in the exhibition viewers will recognize, while others are new to the gallery, emerging and established, together showcasing a palette of imagery and interpretations that is nothing, if not colorful.

The White Room Gallery is at 3 Railroad Avenue in East Hampton. The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. Friday to Sunday. For details, visit thewhiteroom.gallery.