2 Photos
Philippe Cheng, “Napeague, 01,” 2020.
Lieve Thiers, “The Search for Leeloo,” 2020.
The 2020 Long Island Biennial, a juried exhibition featuring art from contemporary artists across Suffolk and Nassau counties, received more than 800 artwork entries this year, with 100 works selected for exhibition.
The final exhibition represents 52 artists living in Long Island communities stretching from Freeport to Port Washington to Shelter Island. For the first time, most artists will show two or three artworks, presenting viewers with a fuller picture of their recent work. The show remains on view through January 10, 2021 at The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington.
Inaugurated in 2010, the Long Island Biennial offers resident professional artists a singular opportunity to share their work through a prestigious exhibition, and provides a unique and exciting space for visitors to see a snapshot of contemporary art on Long Island.
“In the year of our centennial, it was serendipitous that the three jurors happened to select 100 artworks for exhibition,” said curator Karli Wurzelbacher. “The volume and quality of the submissions challenged the jurors, yet resulted in a remarkable exhibition that incorporates many media, genres, and styles.” Wurzelbacher added, “I find the art in the Biennial to be beautiful, inventive, and thought-provoking, particularly the work that engages with contemporary events and concerns, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the COVID-19 pandemic, human migration, and the environment.”
The jurors for the 2020 Biennial are Erin Kimmel, art writer and Ph.D. candidate in art history at Stony Brook University; Heidi Lange, director of DC Moore Gallery, New York City; and Paton Miller, Southampton artist and curator.
This year, a robust program of events will coincide with the exhibition. Long Island Biennial programming engages both artists and guests alike through in-person and virtual events. Selected artists will be in the galleries on Fridays during the exhibition to discuss their work. Virtual studio tours through Zoom will give visitors a peak into artists’ workspaces and their work in progress. The “Conversation Series,” also through Zoom, will feature Wurzelbacher and panels of artists discussing various themes. For a complete schedule of events, artists, and registration information, please go to Heckscher.org/libiennialevents.
East End artists showing in the exhibition include Bridgehampton’s Philippe Cheng, Caro Dranow, and Sarah Turnbull; East Hampton’s Christa Maiwald; Hampton Bays’s Martha Mcaleer; Riverhead’s Adam Straus; Sag Harbor’s Lieve Thiers; Sagaponack’s Deborah Buck; Shelter Island’s Janet Culbertson; Southampton’s Michael Ferran; Water Mill’s Claire Watson; Westhampton’s Mia Wisnoski; and Westhampton Beach’s Meredith Rose.
Visit Heckscher.org for more information on the exhibition, museum hours and visitor safety guidelines.
Staff Writer on Oct 20, 2020