Hilary Helfant At Keyes Art

On Friday, June 24, Keyes Art in Sag Harbor opens an exhibition featuring the work of Hilary Helfant with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.

Based on the East End, Helfant is a ceramic artist and geometric abstractionist. She explores patterns and layers in natural forms. Her pieces don’t replicate nature but develop organically on their own. Using a sphere shape as a starting point, she makes sculpture that one doesn’t just look at, but looks into.

The radiating spikes create a larger implied sphere. For glaze, Helfant sprays a base color to then create lines using an application bulb — in a sense, painting two dimensionally on a three dimensional surface, creating movement and a strong contrast.

She recognizes the similarities between her work and objects from the sea, but that isn’t entirely her goal when creating it. The reaction she hopes for people to get out of her work, is for them to stop and appreciate the work, just the way they would look at and appreciate nature. When she titles her work she often has political ideas that go along with them; global warming and ocean acidification.

Helfant’s work represents her bottom line optimism. A ceramic sculpture, sturdy in nature; a symbol of strength and the resilience people need today, caring about one another and the future of our planet.

Hilary Helfant’s exhibition runs through July 14 at Keyes Art, 45 Main Street, Sag Harbor. For more information, visit juliekeyesart.com.