85th Artist Members Exhibition Opens at Guild Hall

The 85th Artist Members Exhibition and “Linda Reville Eisenberg: STILL” will open at Guild Hall on Sunday, November 17, with a members-only preview on Saturday, November 16. Awards juror Storm Ascher, founder of Superposition Gallery and The Hamptons Black Arts Council, will select the Top Honors winner and honorable mentions, to be announced at a preview reception between 3 and 5 p.m. that day.

Since its inception, the Artist Members Exhibition has supported artists and Guild Hall by offering the works on view for purchase, with proceeds split evenly between the two. Works in all forms of media, from painting to sculpture, can be found on Guild Hall’s Shopify page, shopart.guildhall.org/, with prices ranging from $99 to $24,000.

The Artist Members Exhibition began in 1938, and Guild Hall continues this long-standing, democratic tradition as the oldest nonjuried museum exhibition on Long Island. This year’s presentation features over 300 works and showcases a variety of media. As with the concept of the salon, established artists are exhibited alongside emerging talent and first-time exhibitors, offering a glimpse of artistic practices within the community. This initiative allows audiences to support and celebrate the artists who live and work in the region. Early AME participants included James Brooks, Lee Krasner, Willem de Kooning, Alfonso Ossorio, Charlotte Park, Jackson Pollock and more.

The recipient of the AME Top Honors Award is given a future solo exhibition at Guild Hall. This year, the 2021 Top Honors winner, Linda Reville Eisenberg, will present “STILL” in the Tito Spiga Exhibition Space. Eisenberg was chosen by Antwaun Sargent, a Gagosian director and curator. The works selected for the presentation emphasize the intimate connection between creator and subject matter, as for Eisenberg, painting is an act of discovery and curiosity, akin to meeting a new person. Capturing the timeless and universal qualities of still life, her paintings elevate her subjects, celebrating quiet simplicity and offering calm amid the clamor of contemporary life.

The 85th Artist Members Exhibition and “Linda Reville Eisenberg: STILL” are organized by Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts, with Philippa Content, museum registrar and exhibition coordinator.

In conjunction with the opening, on Sunday, November 17, at 2 p.m., curator and guest juror Storm Ascher and Phyllis Hollis, host of the podcast “Cerebral Women Art Talks,” will sit down for a conversation on Ascher’s practice and career in the art world, and her experience as juror of the exhibition. Gallery tours will also be offered on Sunday, December 8, at noon with AME honorable mention recipients, and with Linda Reville Eisenberg on Sunday, December 15, at noon.

Both exhibitions are open through January 5, 2025. Galleries are open Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. and museum admission is always free. Guild Hall is at 158 Main Street in East Hampton.