The Paintings of Natalie Edgar at Duck Creek

The season’s opening exhibition in the John Little Barn at the Arts Center at Duck Creek is “Natalie Edgar: 1970s Paintings.” Organized by curator and art consultant Juan Puntes, the show runs May 4 to June 2 and opens with a reception on Saturday, May 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. It comprises a selection of abstract paintings and prints by Edgar, highlighting her singular approach to art in the 1970s. Her boundary-breaking style has earned her a reputation as an artist who defied convention. As she explained, she “deepened the experience and continuity of the [picture] plane as treated in early Abstract Expressionism, expanding its power.”

In 1978, Edgar, her husband Philip Pavia, a renowned sculptor and co-founder of The Club, and their two sons moved across Peconic Bay, from their studio barn from Southold to Squaw Road in Springs, just a stone’s throw from the Arts Center at Duck Creek.

“We are honored to share the work of our distinguished neighbor,” said Jess Frost, the center’s executive director. “Her imagery is a testament to her mastery of color and the activation of negative space. Her compositions feature striking color paths that captivate the viewer.”

Edgar’s illustrious career as a painter was ignited by her mentor Mark Rothko, with whom she studied at Brooklyn College. She earned a degree in Art History from Columbia University and went on to become an art critic for Artnews. She wrote for the magazine from 1959 to 1973 and reviewed exhibitions of work by Isamu Noguchi, Esteban Vicente, Robert Motherwell and other major New York School artists. Influenced by figures like her teacher Ad Reinhardt, her friends Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline, and her husband, she emerged as a formidable presence in the art world. Her book, “Club Without Walls,” an edited selection of her late husband’s journals, was published in 2007.

The Arts Center at Duck Creek is located at 127 Squaw Road in East Hampton. For details, visit duckcreekarts.org or call 631-604-8464.