Exploring Life Below the Storm

Miles Partington, a graduate of SUNY New Paltz, was born in Southampton and grew up on the East End, surrounded by art from a young age. He interned for the late East End sculptor William King and in 2018, had his first solo exhibition with Tripoli Gallery. That same year, in conjunction with the Montauk Oceans Institute exhibition “Save the Right Whale,” Partington painted a mural on the floor representing the 450 North Atlantic Right Whales that remained at that time.

Now, Tripoli Gallery presents “Below the Storm,” a pop-up exhibition of Partington’s work at the Montauk Oceans Institute, which is located on the grounds of Montauk Point Lighthouse, that coincides with the institute’s current exhibition “Laws Not Jaws.”

“Below the Storm” features a series of new works by Partington illustrating animals such as sharks, mammals, reptiles, and birds. The installation explores the illegal practice of shark finning that is decimating shark populations around the world. Mr. Partington uses wood as his primary medium and his two-dimensional cutouts illustrate the profiles of animals placed in their natural environments, as well as in human constructed settings.

Brought inside from their usual habitats, an alligator swims in the bathtub and a shark rests on the couch. The misconception of these creatures as intentionally menacing is negated by the everyday human furniture to which they are seamlessly affixed. Partington also continues his use of the diorama to create layered vignettes. “Sitting in the Morning” illustrates scenes of animals living in neighboring sections of the artwork. In one window there is a solitary buck, next door two cats sit at a table in a clever mimic of human behavior while below, a trail of terns fly by the sun; the natural and domestic worlds coexist in harmony.

“Below the Storm” will be on view for the month of September and opens with a reception on Sunday, September 1, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Montauk Oceans Institute Foghorn Building, 2000 Montauk Highway, Montauk.

The opening will also feature poetry readings by Max Blagg, Benjamin Keating, Ella Snow, Kathy Snow, and Liam Stegman.