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Arts Provide a Tonic for Young Painters and Sculptors
By Mariah Quinn

Team Tonic: Scott Gibbons, Gary Lovelace, Grant Haffner, Justin Smith, Carly Haffner, and Don Porcella have helped make Bonac Tonic into a showcase for young, local artists. Photos by the Artists

East Hampton - Tonic: “Anything invigorating, physically, mentally or morally.” Arts: “The quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.”

Artist Carly Haffner used found cardboard to create the car sculpture.

In the spirit of the two definitions, two groups of young artists have joined together to create art collectives “so the pure joy of the arts can be shared by everyone,” Bethany Peters, the founder of the Sag Harbor-based Arts4 collective, commented. Together with Bonac Tonic, an East Hampton-based group of artists, Arts4 have been mounting shows across the East End featuring the diverse works of their members and other area artists. On Feb. 23 a show called “Arts4 Bonac Tonic” will be held at Ashawagh Hall in Springs. “It’s going to be a huge show,” reported Grant Haffner, one of the founders of Bonac Tonic, featuring “all young talent.”

The process of breaking into the art scene started three years ago for Bonac Tonic. Its eight members were intent on answering the question “How does a young talent get exposure?” Haffner recounted. “I went to galleries and no one took me seriously,” he explained. As the group hosts more shows, many at Ashawagh Hall, Haffner admitted “We’re getting better, and we’re getting more confident about putting our art up on the walls,” he said.

When Bonac Tonic first started mounting shows, “It came down to ‘Whoever wants to do this, give me a call,’” Haffner said. “Once you get the ball rolling people really start to get interested.”

The work of Bonac Tonic member Gary Lovelace includes the pictured Snowy Owl.

Now that the group’s artists are getting more exposure. “It’s more about putting up awesome art,” Haffner explained. The art produced by Bonac Tonic’s members ranges from landscape paintings to photography and sculpture. “It really is everything,” said Haffner, whose specialty is acrylic landscapes. The group is seeking to expand into other mediums, including featuring live bands, comedians, and performance pieces at future shows. “There’s definitely room to grow,” Haffner noted.

Arts4
Like Bonac Tonic, Arts4, founded in early 2007, is not limited solely to the visual arts. Poets, fiction writers, filmmakers, and musicians participate in its exhibitions; the group has 15 core members and another 25 who participate on an occasional basis. “When we host our own shows, we try to include as many people as possible,” said Peters, who works mostly in printmaking. Their wide-ranging appeal has drawn some large crowds, including a show during Harborfest in Sag Harbor in October that attracted more than 300 people. While many of the artists featured in Arts4 exhibitions tend to be young, the group tries to involve as many artists as possible. “It’s important to me that we’re non-exclusive,” Peters said. The focus is on collaboration, and according to the group’s mission, “working collaboratively has allowed for the cross-combination of creative minds and disciplines, and for the cross-fertilization of ideas and approaches.”

Bonic Tonic’s work runs the gamut from painting to sculpture. Above, a work by Carly Haffner.

The two artists’ collectives are in the midst of a busy period of openings and shows. On Feb. 9 Bonic Tonic and Arts4 joined together for the opening of a show at Clovis Point Vineyard in Jamesport, that will run through May 9. “It was great,” Peters said. “We had a very good crowd, lots of art and wine enthusiasts alike. I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces, which is good because it means people are coming because of our name.”

“I was really proud of the body of work shown,” she said.

On March 15, Bonic Tonic will host the Bonac Tonic Invitational titled “Whatever They Told Me Never Happened” at Ashawagh Hall. The sheer numbers of opportunities that have come Bonac Tonic’s way have surprised Haffner. “It’s been incredible,” he said. “I would never imagine that I would be this busy.”

While members have sold some of their works at the shows, the intent of both Bonac Tonic and Arts4 is to give its artists a chance to develop an audience for their work. “We’re just trying to have a good time, where you get to meet people and talk about your art,” Haffner explained. “I would love to see it as a living breathing creature that continues to grow.”

Bethany Peters series of transfer prints from photographs of a trip to Europe.