Hamptons Art Fairs Target Hipster Collectors with Edgy, Nostalgic Artworks

Traffic-cone animals and comic book art offer intergenerational appeal.

Jamie Salmon's "Lily" in front of Sungchul Hong's "Perceptual Mirrors" from Binghamton's Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.

Jamie Salmon’s Lily in front of Sungchul Hong’s Perceptual Mirrors from Binghamton’s Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts at ArtHamptons.
Photo: Sarah Cascone.

The Hamptons’ summer art fair season got off to a roaring start last night with the opening of ArtHamptons and Art Market Hamptons, both open through July 13. Despite the bumper-to-bumper traffic piling up en route to both events last night, the fairs had a less frenzied, more sociable vibe compared to the crazed hustle of New York City’s Frieze and Armory weeks.

As was to be expected, many of the exhibitors are local galleries from Long Island’s East End, but a large number also come from much further afield, including a mini fair-within-a-fair of Korean galleries sprinkled throughout ArtHamptons.

artnet News started the night at Art Market Hamptons, held in a compact yet spacious tent pitched outside the Bridgehampton Historical Society. This seemed to be the more upscale of the two fairs, with a food truck garden featuring Roberta’s, the Red Hook Lobster Pound, and Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck, and a VIP room designed by swanky Manhattan private drinking club Norwood.

And how was the art? We were immediately taken by the folksy, carnival sideshow-esque work from Red Truck Gallery in New Orleans, which had hung a number of hand-painted wooden signs by Bryan Cunningham hung salon style. Those were paired with embroidered works by Chris Roberts Antieau, lending the booth the air of an antique shop, even if they did sneak in one animatronic sculpture (Tom Haney‘s The Usual Suspects, a police line-up that could almost pass for a boy-band).

The local galleries also fared well. Donald Robertson showed his colorful, fashion-inspired paintings, thriftily painted on Whole Foods bags, at East Hampton’s Eric Firestone Gallery, while Vered Modern and Contemporary Art offered an impressively wide range of works. True to its name, their large booth had everything from a diminutive wire doll by Andy Warhol to giant, sci-fi and anime-tinged light-up sculptures from Colin Christian.

The sunsets at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.

The sun sets at ArtHamptons.
Photo: Sarah Cascone.

As artnet News arrived at ArtHamptons, just up the road in Water Mill, the sun had just set, leaving behind a glowing pink and orange sky at the Sculpture Fields of Nova’s Ark. With such a beautiful vista, it was hard to go inside, but the expansive fair offered plenty to see. There were a few big names, with Alex Katz and Roy Lichtenstein work at Miami’s Adamar Fine Arts. We also spotted Julian Opie’s holographic, moving portraits from Galerie Hafenrichter in NĂĽmberg, Germany.

One great discovery was Park Seungmo‘s mind-blowing hanging steel mesh works from Seoul’s Keumsan Gallery. The artist creates his relief sculptures by layering the mesh and then cutting it away as if he’s drawing on the unusual material. The end result becomes a shadowy optical illusion, and is difficult for the mind to comprehend.

Also jarring to the eye was Jamie Salmon‘s Lily, a hyper-realistic, disturbingly oversize silicone bust—beautiful, but hard to look at. Wisely, Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts, of nearby Binghamton, paired the piece with a captivating, flickering, photosensitive sculpture by Sungchul Hong titled Perceptual Mirrors.

A welcome sight were Johnston Foster’s playful sculptures, animals crafted from bright orange traffic cones. His sharks, seen at New York’s Downtown Fair in May, were accompanied here by a pair of rhino brothers. Foster’s gallery, New York’s Emmanuel Fremin, also was featuring photos by Moby, and promised the celebrity musician would be on hand at the booth Friday afternoon.

Tibor de Nagy, also in New York, was touting an artist appearance of its own, from Jane Freilicher, a local landscape painter who is being honored with a career retrospective. Her cheerful seaside and floral compositions, displayed on brightly colored walls, capture the spirit of the area in broad, easy strokes.

Top row: on left, a painting by Jason Poremba from Karyn Mannix Contemporary, East Hampton, at ArtHamptons; at right, David Datuna take at Birnam Wood Galleries at ArtMarketHamptons. Middle Row: at left, at ArtMarketHamptons, Michael Scoggins has a larger than life notebook drawing of G.I. Joe at New York's Freight + Volume; at right, ArtHamptons displays Mr. Brainwash's Superman art from Greenwich, Connecticut's Samuel Owen Gallery. Bottom Row: at left, at ArtHamptons, Karyn Mannix Gallery showed Lauri Lynnxe Murphy's "Geminocapitas luncus;" at right: "Deer Head" by Chris Roberts Antieau from New Orleans's Red Truck Gallery at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.

Top row: on left, a painting by Jason Poremba from Karyn Mannix Contemporary, East Hampton, at ArtHamptons; at right, David Datuna at Birnam Wood Galleries at Art Market Hamptons. Middle Row: at left, at Art Market Hamptons, Michael Scoggins has a larger than life notebook drawing of G.I. Joe at New York’s Freight + Volume; at right, ArtHamptons displays Mr. Brainwash’s Superman art from Greenwich, Connecticut’s Samuel Owen Gallery. Bottom Row: at left, at ArtHamptons, Karyn Mannix Gallery showed Lauri Lynnxe Murphy’s Geminocapitas luncus; at right: Deer Head by Chris Roberts Antieau from New Orleans’s Red Truck Gallery at Art Market Hamptons.
Photo: Sarah Cascone.

artnet News spotted a few mini-trends across the two fairs. A little bit of celebrity, a little bit of of pop culture, and a little bit of . . . hipster Brooklyn? The same image of actress Audrey Hepburn inspired works at both fairs, while nostalgic icons such  Superman, Wonder Woman, and G.I. Joe were also on hand. We spotted several pieces depicting mounted animal heads that wouldn’t have been out of place at a trendy comfort food restaurant.

All in all, the Hamptons fairs have an undeniable laid-back charm that contrasts nicely with the spring’s more hectic, blue chip–heavy New York City art fairs. Just like the Hamptons themselves, ArtHampton and Art Market Hamptons might not hold up year round, but for summer, they are just right.

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Guests arriving at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Guests arriving at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Park Seungmo's "Maya" series of steel mesh sculpture-drawings from Seoul's Keumsan Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Park Seungmo's Maya series of steel mesh sculpture-drawings from Seoul's Keumsan Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Johnston Foster's "Little Brothers" traffic cone rhino sculptures and other work from New York's Emmanuel Fremin Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Johnston Foster's Little Brothers traffic-cone rhino sculptures and other work from New York's Emmanuel Fremin Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Jamie Salmon's "Lily" in front of Sungchul Hong's "Perceptual Mirrors" from Binghamton's Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Jamie Salmon's Lily in front of Sungchul Hong's Perceptual Mirrors from Binghamton's Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Rye, New York's, Ai Bo Galley's booth at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Rye, New York's, Ai Bo Galley's booth at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Alex Katz and Roy Lichtenstein from Miami's Adamar Fine Arts at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Works by Alex Katz and Roy Lichtenstein from Miami's Adamar Fine Arts at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Gallerist Lawrence Cantor with a 3D screw painting by Andrew Myers at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Gallerist Lawrence Cantor with a 3-D screw painting by Andrew Myers at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
3D screw paintings by Andrew Myers from West Hollywood's Lawrence J. Cantor and Company at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
3-D screw paintings by Andrew Myers from West Hollywood's Lawrence J. Cantor and Company at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Athos Zacarias from Karyn Mannix Contemporary at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Athos Zacarias from Karyn Mannix Contemporary at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
La Roc's "Keith Haring Tribute" series from East Hampton's Lawrence Fine Art at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
La Roc's Keith Haring Tribute series from East Hampton's Lawrence Fine Art at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A visitor wears a iPhone covered body suit with flashing messages at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A visitor wears a iPhone covered body suit with flashing messages at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Bradley Wood from New York's Fitzroy Knox at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Bradley Wood from New York's Fitzroy Knox at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A LED backlit painting done in acrylic on multiple sheets of tempered glass by Peter Bynum, from Basel's JanKossen Contemporary at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A LED backlit painting done in acrylic on multiple sheets of tempered glass by Peter Bynum, from Basel's JanKossen Contemporary at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Ross Bonfanti's "Elephant," from London's Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, in front of the booth of Paris's Frédéric Got Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Ross Bonfanti's Elephant, from London's Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, in front of the booth of Paris's Frédéric Got Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
One of the paintings in the Jane Freilicher retrospective hosted by New York's Tibor de Nagy Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
One of the paintings in the Jane Freilicher retrospective hosted by New York's Tibor de Nagy Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Glass sculptures and painting from Habatat Galleries of Royal Oak, Michigan, at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Glass sculptures and painting from Habatat Galleries of Royal Oak, Michigan, at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Julian Opie from NĂĽmberg, Germany's, Galerie Hafenrichter at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Julian Opie from NĂĽmberg, Germany's, Galerie Hafenrichter at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A photo by Moby at New York's Emmanuel Fremin Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A photo by Moby at New York's Emmanuel Fremin Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paike Have Young's "Be a Book" sculpture at Seoul's Um Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paike Have Young's Be a Book sculpture at Seoul's Um Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Jason Poremba attempted to reinvent the Kodak Moment in the Karyn Mannix Contemporary, East Hampton, booth at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Jason Poremba attempted to reinvent the Kodak Moment in the Karyn Mannix Contemporary, East Hampton, booth at ArtHamptons, but artnet News didn't see anyone rise to the bait. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
This work by Ricardo Pelaez, from New York's Tibor de Nagy Gallery, became a popular photo op at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
This work by Ricardo Pelaez, from New York's Tibor de Nagy Gallery, became a popular photo op at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Fairgoers toast to the sentiment of a Peter Tunney painting from Samuel Owens Gallery, Greenwich, Connecticut, at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Fairgoers toast to the sentiment of a Peter Tunney painting from Samuel Owens Gallery, Greenwich, Connecticut, at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings by Victoria Kovalenchikova and a statue by Kremena Lefterova from New York's Red Royalty Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings by Victoria Kovalenchikova and a statue by Kremena Lefterova from New York's Red Royalty Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The booth for Chicago's Jean Albano Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The booth for Chicago's Jean Albano Gallery at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Sunset over the Sculpture Fields of Nova's Ark at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Sunset over the Sculpture Fields of Nova's Ark at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Sunset over the Sculpture Fields of Nova's Ark at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Sunset over the Sculpture Fields of Nova's Ark at ArtHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Guests arrive at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Guests arrive at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Sean Henry, "Untitled (Blue Jeans)" from New York's Forum Gallery at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Sean Henry, Untitled (Blue Jeans) from New York's Forum Gallery at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Bryan Cunningham from Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Bryan Cunningham from Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Ron Aloni from LOOC Art at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Ron Aloni from LOOC Art at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The booth for south Florida's Rosenbaum Contemporary at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The booth for south Florida's Rosenbaum Contemporary at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings by Austin Murray from New York's Lyons Wier Gallery at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings by Austin Murray from New York's Lyons Wier Gallery at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings by Donald Robertson from East Hampton's Eric Firestone Gallery at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings by Donald Robertson from East Hampton's Eric Firestone Gallery at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The booth for Sag Harbor's Grenning Gallery at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The booth for Sag Harbor's Grenning Gallery at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A decidedly cohesive two-gallery display, with Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, on the left, and New York's Joy Wai Galley on the right at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
A decidedly cohesive two-gallery display, with Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, left, and New York's Joy Wai Galley, right, at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Record-inspired paintings by Gideon Bok from New York's Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Record-inspired paintings by Gideon Bok from New York's Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Tom Haney, "The Usual Suspects," from Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Tom Haney, The Usual Suspects, from Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Gregory Johnston from Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Gregory Johnston from Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings inspired by Samuel Beckett quotes by David Rathman from New York's Morgan Lehman Gallery at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Paintings inspired by Samuel Beckett quotes by David Rathman from New York's Morgan Lehman Gallery at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by David Datuna from New York's Birnam Wood Galleries at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by David Datuna from New York's Birnam Wood Galleries at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Dan Henderson, Coke bottle, from Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Beverly Hills, at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Dan Henderson, Coke bottle, from Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Beverly Hills, at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Chris Robert Antineau from Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Work by Chris Robert Antineau from Red Truck Gallery, New Orleans, at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Colin Christian,"Barbarella (Starring Miss Mash)," from East Hampton's Vared Modern and Contemporary Art at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
Colin Christian, Barbarella (Starring Miss Mash), from East Hampton's Vared Modern and Contemporary Art at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The VIP Tent, designed by New York's Norwood, a private members club, at ArtMarketHamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.
The VIP Tent, designed by New York's Norwood, a private members club, at Art Market Hamptons. Photo: Sarah Cascone.

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