NEW hamptons.com article

Updated: March 19, 2008 2:01pm

Ashawagh Hall Hosts Joint Arts4-BonacTonic Exhibit
By Eileen Casey

Participating artists from both Arts4 and Bonac Tonic joined creative talents for the successful exhibit. Photos by Eileen Casey

Peter Ngo with his work “Dessert Hoppers”.

Springs - Ashawagh Hall was the setting on Saturday, March 15, for the collaborative efforts of two art groups, Arts4 and Bonac Tonic. The “And Now For Something Totally Awesome” show, which ran from March 14 through March 16, featured the works of 12 Bonac Tonic artists, and 18 Arts4 artists, or collectively, Arts4BonacTonic.

On Feb. 23 and Feb. 24, these two groups held their first collaborative exhibition on the South Fork, also at Ashawagh Hall, and Saturday’s opening represented what both groups believe to be a “new young birth of an artistic movement.”

Amid the works of both seasoned and emerging artists this show reflected a diversity of talented individuals who encompassed “an extensive range of backgrounds, traditions, styles, mediums and disciplines.”

Most of the participating artists were able to exhibit more than one piece and a fortunate few had works sporting little red dots, such as Sag Harbor resident, Oliver Peterson, who “reveres the bucolic nature of the area.” Peterson titles each piece “to grant the viewer a frame of reference from which to decode individual meaning.”

Hunter Herrick with his sculpture “Untitled Box”.

Burt Van Deusen was just congratulating the new owner of his work “Slipping To Pink” just as his photo was being taken. Van Deusen “creates emotionally charged driven landscapes with oil based cloud paintings” which was obviously appreciated by his newest patron. Bethany Peters' work "Of Walking and Turtles" also spotted a red dot, as well as Bruce Milne.

Given the crowd in attendance and the numerous sponsors of this art exhibition, it was evident that there is a mass appreciation of the talents of these artists, including, but limited to, the delightful “Bottle Cap Boy” and “Bottle Cap Girl” mixed media work of Trish Franey; the interesting and revealing photograph “Bulova Courtyard” by artist Bruce Milne who works in both architectural and photographic arts; the tactile rawness of the sculpture “Untitled Box” by Hunter Herrick; and the imaginary world explored by Peter Ngo in his painting “The Desert Hoppers,” as well as expressive moving thick and thin lines in the human forms drawn by Linda Capello, an inductee of The National Association of Women Artists.

Molly Weiss with her oil canvas “Molly In Red Glasses”.

Gideon Stein of the Gideon Stein Gallery in Bridgehampton, who opened his gallery in the summer of 2007, and is an accomplished artist and musician, expressed his appreciation “at the warm reception and support young artists are receiving on the East End.”

There appeared to be as many artists in attendance as there were exhibiting in the show, among them David Slater, Gerry Giliberti, and Kris Warrenburg. That is always a compliment to any artist, and compliments should abound to these participating artists and their collaborative efforts.

Justin Smith, Trish Franey and Lisa Weston in front of Franey’s mixed media “Bottle Cap Boy And Bottle Cap Girl”.