The Shape of Thought: New Bridgehampton Exhibit Explores the Human Head

The Bridgehampton Museum will open its latest exhibition, “Our Heads Are Round So Our Thoughts Can Change Direction,” on Friday, September 26, with a public reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Corwith House, 2368 Montauk Highway.

The exhibition features work by Brian Gaman, Curtis Mitchell and Michael McKeown, presenting sculptures and installations that challenge traditional portraiture and examine the human head as both metaphor and form.

Inspired by Francis Picabia’s quote, the show rejects grand, elevated representations of the self in favor of blurry, bulbous, anonymous, plebeian and personal interpretations. The works invite meditations on identity, perception and the cosmos.

Gaman’s iron and steel “globes” nod to post-minimalism while evoking planetary weight and serial form. Mitchell’s pieces explore the synthesis of human and manufactured objects, focusing on societal response rather than representation. McKeown’s work reflects a world worn by commerce and culture, prompting viewers to consider their own agency.

“There is a sense of both curiosity and despair in these sculptures,” said curator Bonnie Rychlak. “A wealth of knowledge, alongside an awareness that we can only ever know so much. In an encounter with the other, we often glimpse ourselves — who do you see? The past, present or the future?”

The exhibition will remain on view through Saturday, October 25. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

The Bridgehampton Museum’s Corwith House is at 2368 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton. For more information, visit bridgehamptonmuseum.org.