Erica-Lynn Huberty’s ‘Natural Respite’

Sara Nightingale Gallery in Sag Harbor is currently hosting “Natural Respite,” a site-specific installation of works by Erica-Lynn Huberty created over the pandemic year. Rather than mourning the many losses brought about by the global health crisis, Huberty seeks to evoke joy in the viewer, drawing inspiration from the Earth’s rebound during our human respite.

Because of the worldwide shutdown due to the pandemic, greenhouse gases decreased by 17 percent, and the skies in India and California appeared azure-blue for the first time in decades. The sound of birdsong returned to normally noisy cities, while foxes lounged alongside domestic pets on patio furniture in London backyards.

The Earth’s ability for recovering astounds and inspires Huberty, who, at the outset of the pandemic, latched onto the words of environmental journalist Isabella Tree: “We assume we know what is good for a species, but we forget that our landscape is so changed, so desperately impoverished, that we may be recording a species not in its preferred habitat at all, but at the very limit of its range.” In “Natural Respite,” Huberty takes this statement and chronicles, as well as reimagines, the simple backyard garden in its context.

Huberty’s work incorporates embroidery, salvaged and up-cycled textiles, weaving, knitting and other needle-arts, as well as watercolor, polymer paint and drawing techniques. She received an MFA in painting from Bennington College in 1995. Most recently, her work has been exhibited at Southampton Arts Center, Bennington College Carriage Barn, and the South Fork “Drive-By Art” exhibition. She also recently presented and discussed her work as part of The Watermill Center’s Viewpoints series. She lives and works in Bridgehampton and is a lifelong East End resident.

For more information visit saranightingale.com. The gallery is at 26 Main Street, Sag Harbor.