‘Six In The Mix’ Exhibition Showcases East End Artists at Ashawagh Hall, July 11 to 13

“Six In The Mix,” an art exhibition featuring local artists Kirsten Benfield, John Kneapler, John Haubrich, Dorothy W. Kopelman, Daniel Hughs Vernola and Grace Chun, will run July 11 to 13 at Ashawagh Hall in Springs. An opening reception will be held Friday, July 11, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Originally from New Zealand, Kirsten Benfield moved to the East End in her mid-20s. Her first inspiration to paint came from a family heirloom — a journal of watercolors documenting an ancestor’s migratory journey. Largely self-taught, Benfield began painting her own observations through plein air watercolors and later expanded into oil painting and printmaking. She studied with local artists, joined art institutions, and was deeply influenced by her time studying Eastern calligraphy, where she developed a distinctive brush technique. Her work has been exhibited at Guild Hall, The Church in Sag Harbor, the Springs Improvement Society, the Springs Invitational, the Victor D’Amico Art Barge, Springs Historical Society, Ille Arts, Folio East, East Hampton Arts Council events, and Dan Welden’s Printaganza.

John Kneapler is known for his abstract landscapes and color-field paintings, marked by bold color and thick, expressive brushstrokes. He grew up in Miami, where he developed a fascination with shifting skies and weather while boating with his family. He has painted for more than three decades at the Art Students League of New York, where he also serves on the board.

John Haubrich began drawing at age 3 and was encouraged by his parents to pursue his artistic interests. Raised in rural Minnesota, he was influenced by the region’s expansive skies, abandoned farms and weathered relics of the past. Haubrich translates his emotional and visual responses to these landscapes into painting and digital imagery. His abstract work emphasizes gesture, form, and color as a way to explore both external environments and internal states of being.

Dorothy W. Kopelman studied painting with Ad Reinhardt, drawing with Philip Pearlstein, and design with Jimmy Ernst. She taught art and graphic design as an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts, Touro College and Hunter College. For the past decade, she has painted at the Art Students League in New York City and at The Art Barge in Amagansett, where she is a trustee. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions at the Art Students League, The Art Barge, Artist Alliance of East Hampton, Guild Hall and Artifact Projects.

Daniel Hughs Vernola is an abstract painter based in New York City and East Hampton. A member of the Art Students League, he works in layered glazes that emphasize hue, soften plane and evoke what he calls “felt color.” Vernola’s work focuses on light and energy, using the traditional craft of painting to create optically vibrant surfaces that engage the viewer’s perception.

Grace Chun’s work blends emotion and nature, exploring how internal experience can be expressed visually. She began her artistic path in classical music, performing at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, before transitioning to visual art. Chun earned an artist diploma from the National Art Museum and School in New York City and now continues her practice at the Art Students League. Her paintings are described as poetic and rhythmic, inspired by nature’s essence rather than its literal form. Her work has been exhibited and collected in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, the Hamptons and in South Korea, including in Seoul, Busan and Gwangju.

Ashawagh Hall is located at 780 Springs Fireplace Road, East Hampton. Exhibition hours are Friday, July 11, from 12 to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit ashawagh‑hall.org or call 631‑267‑6554.