Ashawagh Hall of the Springs Improvement Society, East Hampton, has long served our East End arts community with rotating exhibitions of local artists’ works. Later this month, a new iteration of this history is taking place.
The idea was born during a dinner early this year, in which three such artists discussed their similar inspirations. In doing so, they noticed that while their approaches to art are unique from one another, they ‘draw’ inspiration from a common place, the Hamptons.
Aaron Warkov, artist, was intrigued, noting “we have very different interpretations of the energy out here!”
The group, including fellow aesthetes Kurt Giehl and Daniel Vernola, responded in kind, planning to critique artwork made into the nicer weather this year.
So it was, early last month, during one gathering to showcase work, Kurt decided to form what he coined ‘The Confluence Art Collective’.
About The Confluence Art Collective
“The Confluence Art Collective joins together three distinct local artists who are influenced by the Hamptons’ world-famous landscapes and waters,” Warkov says. “We sat outside and shared words we found best represented this vision and captured the spirit of how other artists can participate moving forward.”
Daniel Vernola added, “Aaron came up with the word ‘confluence’ and it was perfect! It’s expressive of the fusion of different styles and methods for art-making.”
The artists selected Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton as the venue to pay homage to the role the space has played in shaping the East End’s creative community for more than 100 years.
Giehl says proudly, “while every member of our collective has a unique style of art; seen together, our work has the ability to deliver a unified and powerful statement.”
In holding its first exhibit of East Hampton artists – founded by Giehl, Vernola and Warkov – The Confluence Art Collective brings together one-of-a-kind selections that utilize the Hamptons as an epicenter for practice. Vernola explains, “this show is curated by artists, for artists. It presents formal relationships between compositional elements. No offense to ‘salon-style’… this is a gallery.”
Kurt Giehl
Kurt Giehl is an East Hampton artist that creates original seascape and abstract paintings in oil and acrylic forms. Giehl, debuting his Block Collection, creates paintings composed of hundreds of individual blocks, which are in constant motion as light, shadows and the viewer’s perspective changes throughout the day. They are textural and angular with a balanced composition that plays with the concept of chance.
Daniel Vernola
Vernola is a self-proclaimed ‘abstract essentialist’ whose paintings capture the energy and vibrance of the East End. Employing the traditional craft of oil painting, Vernola works in layered glazes to heighten hues, soften planes and bring the viewer toward ‘felt colors’. His uninhibited work is strong and limitless in its identity.
Aaron Warkov
Warkov, an avid surfer, uses gravity to harness the ocean’s energy to ride waves. His paintings are a translation of his experience with gravity. In his work, the natural flow of paint, which reflects life, transgresses the canvas. His art is powerful yet quiet; it’s a blend of the real and the abstract. Warkov’s paintings and photographs are interpretations of his perception of the earth’s decay and rebirth, as well as the ocean’s fluidity.
But here’s where things really start to ‘come together’!
Partnership with South Fork Sea Farmers
Giehl, Vernola and Warkov all find inspiration and artistic energy from the surrounding Hamptons waters. As such, they are partnering with the South Fork Sea Farmers to donate the proceeds from an auctioned painting that all three artists created. The auctioned piece is the physical birth of the exhibit’s theme.
This esteemed non-profit organization works collaboratively with the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery to expand and broaden educational programs and encourage residents to be stewards of their marine environment. SF² is on a mission to educate and raise awareness of the importance of sustainable marine aquaculture and to inspire constructive action programs.
View The Confluence Art Collective’s First Exhibit
Kurt Giehl, Daniel Vernola and Aaron Warkov are showing their work on August 26th through August 30th at the historic Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton.
Visit Ashawagh Hall to learn more information on becoming a part of the C.A.C. and future exhibitions.