WACH Aims To Highlight the Work of Female Artists

Wendy Van Deusen knows a thing or two about what it’s like to live and work in a man’s world. Which is why she is now keenly focused on supporting the creative lives of women on the East End.

“I’ve always had an affinity to help women,” Van Deusen explained in a recent interview. “I was a chef, so I was always in a man’s world.”

Van Deusen began her cooking career in professional kitchens, serving as head of the pastry department at the famed Frog Commissary in Philadelphia before developing the necessary skills to become a full-fledged chef. In the mid-1970s, she relocated to the East End with her parents — including her Le Cordon Bleu-trained mother — and later, her husband, and together they owned and operated three historic inns, including the 1770 House in East Hampton where Van Deusen earned a James Beard Award.

But Van Deusen’s true passion has long been artistic pursuits. With a degree in textiles from Moore College of Art and Design, in the early 2000s, she began cataloguing the textile collection of Jack Lenor Larsen at LongHouse Reserve, the East Hampton nonprofit founded by the world-renowned weaver and designer. Van Deusen spent 20 years at LongHouse as its curator where she cared for Larsen’s textiles as well as other artwork and antiquities that made up his vast collection.

But within a year of Larsen’s passing in late 2020, Van Deusen left LongHouse Reserve and shifted her focus to the goal of creating a space designed to support female artists.

That vision is embodied in the Women’s Art Center of the Hamptons (or WACH for short — pronounced “watch”). WACH’s premiere exhibition came in spring 2023 with “Making a Mark: The Art of Self Expression,” a show that was displayed in the lobby of Bay Street Theater. A second show, “Color Code,” followed in December 2023 at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts on Main Street in Bridgehampton.

Then a year ago, Markel decided to close her Bridgehampton gallery and she asked Van Deusen if she was interested in taking over the space as a physical home for WACH.

She was indeed.

A bright and cheery gallery with a cozy garden out back, the nonprofit WACH officially opened its doors in Markel’s former space on June 1, 2024, with an exhibition titled “New Horizons.” In the months that followed, WACH has continued to host shows highlighting the work of female artists who live on the East End as well as other women artists from around the globe.

The most recent exhibition, “Shades of Winter,” featured a mix of photography, textiles, paintings and mixed media works by Carolyn Conrad, Kerry Sharkey-Miller, Kathy Erteman, Eva Faye and Rhiannon Griego. In late March, WACH hosted a conversation with three of the show’s artists — Conrad, Faye and Sharkey-Miller. The place was packed.

Van Deusen notes that WACH’s ultimate goal is to support the development of women in the arts in any number of ways — not just through exhibitions, but also by offering events, like the March artist talk, and hands-on workshops to build community in a nurturing and immersive environment.

“I knew what I wanted to do — represent women who, like me, were such talented women and we went on to get married, have children and couldn’t go back to what we were most passionate about,” explained Van Deusen, who serves as WACH’s director. “But we have a spark to go back. There’s such a vibe in here and it’s so needed, not only for the community, but for women artists who say, ‘Could I show you my work?’”

For Van Deusen, that answer is decidedly, “Yes… show me your work.”

And that work can be seen on a year-round basis at WACH, where Van Deusen works alongside the organization’s associate director Joi Jackson Perle, who, like Van Deusen, comes to WACH with experience in the culinary arts field (she was a manager at Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa) and also held positions at Guild Hall and LongHouse Reserve.

The plan for WACH is to host approximately five exhibitions each year. For Van Deusen, it was vital to establish WACH as a nonprofit so that the focus remained on giving back to the community — including the artists who show in the space.

“This whole year has been such a validation of how important it is,” she said. “I give 60 percent of the sales to the artists, and keep 40 percent to keep the lights on now that I’m paying rent. When it was all in my head, it was a little easier.”

Looking ahead this summer, Van Deusen is still considering her options, among them is an idea for a show titled “Dressing Room,” that might be about anything involving fashion, “or an artist I know who does beautiful purses in glass,” Van Deusen said. “It’s not just art of the female body. I also want to do a show called ‘Understories,’ of mushrooms and moss and things like that.’”

While she puts a lot of thought into curating the exhibitions for the Bridgehampton space, WACH isn’t just about the gallery shows. One of the surprises for Van Deusen in this first year has been the success of the events that WACH has hosted in the off season. This past December, for example, WACH held a trio of workshops to celebrate the holidays, including a shibori workshop that introduced participants to the centuries-old Japanese technique of fabric folding and dyeing, a Victorian keepsake ornament workshop, and a session in which guests were encouraged to bring their holiday gifts to the gallery and wrap them while socializing with other members of the community.

“The few workshops we’ve held this past year have been really, really nice,” Van Deusen said. “We’ve had watercolor classes out back, a guy from Turkey came in with carpets from the Atlas Mountains and jewelry makers showed their work. This summer, I hope to really utilize the garden for workshops.

“I didn’t know winter would be busy for us. The show in February opened with a packed reception,” said Van Deusen. “We had no idea. People were spilling outside. The whole feeling was very wonderful. It’s not a great way to see art, but it was February.

“People are coming from all over,” she added. “The word of mouth is very powerful and I think people enjoy the experience when they’re here. It’s very exciting to draw someone in for whatever I’m thinking about. Each of the shows are cohesive. Generally we have about five artists in each and they’re a mix of international and local. I know so many people from all over the world.”

Van Deusen’s global connections figure prominently not only in the exhibitions, but in another aspect of WACH’s offerings as well — overseas art-themed tours. Working alongside Matko Tomičić, a Croatian native and the longtime director at LongHouse Reserve, the pair have already led several WACH trips abroad. The first adventure was to London in March of 2023, the second trip was to Ireland in 2023, and last May, Van Deusen and Tomičić took a group on an art tour of the South of France.

“I wouldn’t go without Marko,” Van Deusen said. “He speaks multiple languages and his knowledge of art, geography and food is very deep. He makes things fun and he has charisma.”

WACH travel opportunities are expansive and plentiful, and the itineraries include tours of museums, visits to cultural sites and the studios of artists and artisans, and, of course, a culinary component. Next up is a nine-day trip to Spain running May 5 to 14 (see sidebar), and this fall, WACH will head to Asia to lead a trip titled “The S(e)oul of Korea: A Cultural Exploration of Korea’s Creative Spirit.” That trip will run October 12 to 25.

“I kind of think in the round,” Van Deusen said of her many goals with WACH. “Once I knew I wanted a women’s center, I knew I wanted to incorporate trips. I love travel, it’s very important to me.

“And what an education that is. More than half of what I do here is educating the public, through exhibitions, travel, workshops and through food,” she said. “We also take trips to New York City for textile shows, we go to the Brooklyn Museum and do studio visits too. I want to continue that.”

With all that she has going on, the realization that she has been able to bring her artistic vision to life with WACH takes Van Deusen back to her early days on the East End, when the potential and sheer beauty of the area was itself pure inspiration.

“It was great,” Van Deusen said. “Like my mother said, ‘It’s by the ocean. It’s never going to not be something wonderful.’”

The Women’s Art Center of the Hamptons is located at 2418 Main Street in Bridgehampton. For information about WACH’s programming, visit wachamptonsny.org.