SHARI ABRAMSON

“A pale, diffused yet nuanced palette combines with strength of brush stroke in Abramson’s poetic abstracts. ”
— Coco Myers

“My work relies upon the moment I leave my interpretations behind

remembering to leave the window open

the wind feels warm upon my cheek

the sun upon my eyes

summons the light” — SA

Shari Abramson was born and raised in Queens, New York and attended the High School of Music and Art. She got her BA in art history from SUNY at Stony Brook, where she studied under Lawrence Alloway, and her MA in Art Education at New York University, NY. She was a model and friend of Raphael Soyer.

Abramson has taught art in New York City and in Southampton, NY schools, as well as privately in her East Hampton, NY studio. Her work has been exhibited at Spainerman Gallery; folioeast, Arlene Bujesi, and the Ross School Gallery, East Hampton, NY; Silas Marder Gallery, and Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY; Ashawagh Hall, Amagansett, NY; the Southampton Cultural Center, Southampton, NY: and the James Chapel Gallery, New York, NY, among other galleries.

Descent, 2017, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 in

Descent, 2017, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 in

Email for more info

ARTIST’S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold work

SHARI ABRAMSON speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU USE AND WHY?

SA/ Many: Oil, canvas, paper, graphite, ink, pastel, newspaper, gouache, photo transfer, cardboard, and found objects. These materials give me the diversity I need to to form the image I am compelled to express.

CM/ CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW YOU WORK?

SA/ In the studio I listen to music, paint, print, assemble and watch, looking and eliminating what does not work and keeping what does. Then look again. Continuing this practice until it sits right.

CM/ WHY THE EAST END? WHEN DID YOU MOVE HERE?

SA/ My husband and I came here twenty-five years ago. We wanted to be near the ocean and raise our children here. Its beauty surrounds all I do. The East End holds the beauty of the early sunrise over the bay and the setting sun through the trees. And the changes which occur through the day and night hours.

CM/ DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM THE HISTORY OF ART ON THE EAST END?

SA/ I see myself in the lineage of the East End artists. The women who created, a stones throw from my home and studio, saw the same sky, water, land and air that I am living with.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY WORKS BY EAST END ARTISTS IN YOUR HOME? IF YOU COULD CHOOSE ANYTHING, IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR ARTIST OR PIECE THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO HAVE?

SA/ I have Burt Glynn, Arnold Rosenberg, Kryn Olson, Roisin Bateman, Camille Perrottet, Gabriele Raacke, Sally Egbert, Bob Golden. Would like Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Conrad Marca-Relli, Don Lenzer.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

ROISIN BATEMAN

“With thin veils of oil or a fine dusting of pastels, Bateman’s paintings—inspired by horizon lines—create a natural landing place for the eye.”
— Coco Myers

“I grew up in the wild and magical landscape of the west coast of Ireland. The qualities of that landscape with its ever-shifting texture of sea and sky, small rocky fields and hawthorn bushes bent by winter gales, live within me as inner landscape. The continually changing weather—dark moody skies with rolling clouds, which can at any moment give way to a sudden burst of sunlight—bring everything into a heightened state of color and aliveness.

In my oils and pastels, I explore the metamorphic effects of weather upon the landscape. I am intrigued by the way color changes –how it manifests itself and dissipates as elements meet and cross. Working with thin veils of oil, or a fine dust of pastel, which can be rubbed in and lifted off, allows me to explore such an ephemeral subject.

The landscape of eastern Long Island, where I currently live and work, is of a very different quality. Its texture is much more light-reflective – large expanses of sandy shore and flat farmland. The juxtaposition of these two environments creates a tension and a balancing of forces, which provide a very rich soil from which to create new form and expression.” — RB

Roisin Bateman began her life and her art in the west of Ireland. After receiving her BFA from Belfast College of Art in Northern Ireland, she moved to the USA. For the past twenty-five years she has lived on the South Fork of Long Island.

Her paintings, prints, and pastel works have been shown throughout the US and Ireland: at the Peter Marcelle Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY; folioeast, East Hampton, NY; the Watermill Center and Sara Nightingale Gallery, Watermill; the Nabi Gallery, Manhattan; at the Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY; and the Linenhall Gallery in Castlebar, Ireland.

Montauk I, 2018, oil on canvas, 38 x 38 in

Montauk I, 2018, oil on canvas, 38 x 38 in

Email for more info

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold work

ROISIN BATEMAN speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ YOU WORK IN BOTH OIL AND PASTEL? WHY BOTH?

RB/ I like oil paint, for it richness of color. I like to build up layers using thin veils of color, and oil is an excellent medium for that. Pastel, which is really like colored dust, and so easily blended and worked into, is an ideal medium to explore the play of elements, and the sudden transformations that can happen in nature.  

CM/ How do you begin a painting?

RB/ I empty my mind of thoughts and listen. Through a process of listening and responding, a painting grows organically out of that conversation. I just keep following some kind of invisible thread and it's always a surprise where it leads.

CM/ YOU WERE BORN AND RAISED IN IRELAND. HOW DOES THIS AREA RELATE TO YOUR HOMELAND?

RB/ I've always lived by the shore, and can't imagine life without my daily pilgrimage to look at the changing light on the water. It inspires me endlessly. Even though my work is abstract, much of my inspiration comes from landscape, and weather as a shapeshifter in that landscape.

CM/ YOU WORK IN A STUDIO MOSTLY, YES?  

RB/ I have a studio on my property in Sag Harbor village where I do most of my work. Occasionally I set up a temporary studio when I travel to Ireland or other places that inspire me.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE SPOTS ON THE EAST END?  

RB/ Barcelona Neck is a favorite walking spot, because it has a rocky shore and is full of texture, which remind me of the coastline of the west of Ireland were I grew up. The ocean inspires me in a different way—a vast expanse of open sea and sand, it speaks to me and spaciousness the vastness—it's full of possibility.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

SCOTT BLUEDORN

“More than just technically superb, Bluedorn’s fantastical paintings and drawings conjure up a world between the real and the imagined.”
— Coco Myers

“Whether in my painting, drawing, printmaking, or found object assemblage, I am an observer of the natural world and its collision with a modern society. I create drawings that celebrate the mystery and magic of the natural world in a supernatural sense. I am an avid traveler and draw from direct experience of a place, making work that hints at the wonder present in every detail of creation. I draw inspiration from cultural anthropology, primitivism, and nautical tradition, distilling imagery that speaks to the collective unconscious, especially through myth and visual storytelling—a world I conjure as “maritime cosmology.” – SB

Scott Bluedorn was born in 1986, in Southampton, NY and received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He has exhibited extensively on the East End of Long Island, including at the Southampton Art Center, Kathryn Markel in Bridgehampton; folioeast and Roman Fine Arts in East Hampton; the Whaling Museum, Sag Harbor; Crush Curatorial and Ashawagh Hall, Amagansett; the Parrish Art Museum, Watermill, NY, as well as in galleries in Nantucket, New York City, and Miami. Bluedorn’s work is also on view at The Edward Albee Foundation in New York City, and included in numerous private collections in the US, Canada, Ireland, France and Portugal. He lives and works in East Hampton, NY.

Bluedorn in his studio

Bluedorn in his studio

Email for more info

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold paintings

SCOTT BLUEDORN speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ YOU WORK IN SEVERAL MEDIUMS?

SB/ I use acrylics, watercolors, inks, graphite, and wood. Each material lends its own capability in expression. I use a range of media and try to challenge myself by always experimenting with new ones. Recently I have turned to various print processes, such as solar plate etching, which is an unusual and versatile printmaking medium.

CM/ HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR SUBJECT MATTER?

SB/ My inspiration comes from various sources — imagery, mythology, anthropology, historical documents and direct experience. I have always used drawing as my primary mode of expression, which is a starting point for how I construct a picture, which may then become an object or assemblage.

CM/ YOU WERE BORN AND RAISED HERE. WHAT CONTINUES TO BE THE BIGGEST DRAW?

SB/ The ocean has been the largest influence in my life, and is a constant generater for my inspiration. Having always been surrounded by its presence, I can’t help but let it seep into my work through many different lenses.

CM/ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR ON THE EAST END?  AND YOUR FAVORITE PLACE?

SB/ Fall on the east end is the best of all worlds. Warm temperatures, harvest time, wave season, depopulation . . . I always like Montauk for its primal edge of the world feel. As a surfer, the waves are a big draw, but also the secluded coves, bluffs and forest trails are much different than other places on the east end.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY WORKS BY EAST END ARTISTS IN YOUR HOME?

SB/ I have a small collection of works traded with other local artists, including Paton Miller, Dalton Portella, Sydney Albertini, Grant Haffner, Colin Goldberg, Billy Strong, Christian Little, and various anonymous "street artists.”

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW of paintings

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold drawings

SCOTT BLUEDORN

“More than just technically superb, Bluedorn’s fantastical paintings and drawings conjure up a world between the real and the imagined.”
— Coco Myers

“Whether in my painting, drawing, printmaking, or found object assemblage, I am an observer of the natural world and its collision with a modern society. I create drawings that celebrate the mystery and magic of the natural world in a supernatural sense. I am an avid traveler and draw from direct experience of a place, making work that hints at the wonder present in every detail of creation. I draw inspiration from cultural anthropology, primitivism, and nautical tradition, distilling imagery that speaks to the collective unconscious, especially through myth and visual storytelling—a world I conjure as “maritime cosmology.” – SB

Scott Bluedorn was born in 1986, in Southampton, NY and received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He has exhibited extensively on the East End of Long Island, including at the Southampton Art Center, Kathryn Markel in Bridgehampton; folioeast and Roman Fine Arts in East Hampton; the Whaling Museum, Sag Harbor; Crush Curatorial and Ashawagh Hall, Amagansett; the Parrish Art Museum, Watermill, NY, as well as in galleries in Nantucket, New York City, and Miami. Bluedorn’s work is in the collection at The Edward Albee Foundation in New York City, and is included in numerous private collections in the US, Canada, Ireland, France and Portugal. He lives and works in East Hampton, NY.

Bluedorn in his studio

Bluedorn in his studio

Email for more info

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold drawings

SCOTT BLUEDORN speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ YOU WORK IN SEVERAL MEDIUMS?

SB/ I use acrylics, watercolors, inks, graphite, and wood. Each material lends its own capability in expression. I use a range of media and try to challenge myself by always experimenting with new ones. Recently I have turned to various print processes, such as solar plate etching, which is an unusual and versatile printmaking medium.

CM/ HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR SUBJECT MATTER?

SB/ My inspiration comes from various sources — imagery, mythology, anthropology, historical documents and direct experience. I have always used drawing as my primary mode of expression, which is a starting point for how I construct a picture, which may then become an object or assemblage.

CM/ YOU WERE BORN AND RAISED HERE. WHAT CONTINUES TO BE THE BIGGEST DRAW?

SB/ The ocean has been the largest influence in my life, and is a constant generator for my inspiration. Having always been surrounded by its presence, I can’t help but let it seep into my work through many different lenses.

CM/ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR ON THE EAST END?  AND YOUR FAVORITE PLACE?

SB/ Fall on the east end is the best of all worlds. Warm temperatures, harvest time, wave season, depopulation . . . I always like Montauk for its primal edge of the world feel. As a surfer, the waves are a big draw, but also the secluded coves, bluffs and forest trails are much different than other places on the east end.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY WORKS BY EAST END ARTISTS IN YOUR HOME?

SB/ I have a small collection of works traded with other local artists, including Paton Miller, Dalton Portella, Sydney Albertini, Grant Haffner, Colin Goldberg, Billy Strong, Christian Little, and various anonymous "street artists.”

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW of drawings

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold paintings

PERRY BURNS

 
“In paintings that pop with pattern and color, Burns merges Islamic-inspired shapes with expressive elements of abstraction.”
— Coco Myers

“Although I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut in the seventies, I had the good fortune to travel to Beirut, Lebanon at the age of 13. My uncle was a naval attaché stationed there. He was a very gregarious man and he knew everybody, from street cleaners to diplomats to the Prime Minister. Together we would walk the streets. Beirut was a virtual orgy of the senses. The colors of the people in all manners of dress, the architecture, ornament, craft and culture, the smells wafting from restaurants and street vendors, the sounds of different languages and calls to prayer were so unlike everything I had known in Greenwich. The experience left an indelible impression.

Yet it wasn’t until years later, when I traveled again to Eastern and Islamic countries, that I began to incorporate the sensibility of those cultures into my artwork. I also find inspiration in the nature of the East End—the reflections of the water, the play of sunlight through the fog, and the colors of the sky at ‘the magic hour’ all make their way into even the most abstract of my paintings. For me, however, painting is not the reproduction of nature as much as the dynamism of visual forces. I do not want to reproduce the visible, I want to create an experience of perception.” — PB

Perry Burns was born in New York in 1956. He received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1988.

Burns has lived on the East End of Long Island for the past twenty-five years and has exhibited widely in the area and beyond. His solo shows include: Cheryl Hazan Gallery, New York; ARC Fine Arts, Larchmont, NY; the Islip Art Museum; the Scope Art Fair in London; Sara Nightingale Gallery in Watermill, NY; Lizan Tops Gallery in East Hampton, NY; and Comerford Hennessey in Bridgehampton, NY. Group shows include: Ille Arts and Neoteric Fine Art, Amagansett, NY; Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY; the Artists Chose Artists show at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, NY.; Guild Hall, folioeast and Spanierman Gallery, East Hampton,NY; Spainerman Modern in New York; ArtAspen and ArtHamptons.

Burns in his studio

Burns in his studio

Email for more info

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold work

PERRY BURNS speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ YOU ARE KNOWN FOR YOUR OIL PAINTINGS. WHY OIL?

PB/ I find it to be the richest, vibrant and most versatile medium. I build up layers of oil paint, sometimes as many as fifteen to twenty, then strip the painting back using sanders, scrapers, etc. to reveal previous layers and thus, the "history" of the painting.

CM/ ARE YOU INSPIRED OR INFLUENCED BY THE HISTORY OF THE ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST MOVEMENT ON THE EAST END?

PB/ Yes, my first studio out here was across the street from the Pollock/Krasner house, and in the neighborhood of Willem de Kooning. I had been studying the abstract expressionists for years and was very influenced by them, though I eventually moved toward other elements in my painting, also being influenced by Islamic art and its sense of history, time, pattern, and repetition.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY WORKS BY EAST END ARTISTS IN YOUR HOME?

PB/ I have works by Donald Baechler, Richmond Burton, and Yung Jake, all of whom used to live on the East End, as well as Darlene Charneco, Alice Hope, Philippe Cheng, and Margaret Garrett, all of whom I love.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

PHILIPPE CHENG

“Cheng’s beautifully blurred images of landscapes are evocative, meditative, and restorative.”
— Coco Myers

“My photographs of the East End of Long Island are personal interpretations of a landscape that derives its beauty and power from the earth’s palate and ever-changing seasons.

I seek to evoke a mood rather than capture the minute visual details of a particular view, so I will manipulate the camera, shifting the focus plane, to create scenes that are deliberately blurred. The photographs are dominated by intense color and a gentle abstraction.

The horizon, the sea, the sand and the beach grass of Long Island all make their appearances, but in dreamlike forms, inviting the viewer to share my personal connection with the landscape.” — PC

Philippe Cheng was born and raised in New York City and educated at The School of Visual Arts and New York University. In the early 1990’s he worked at Magnum Photos, assisting photographers Gilles Peress, Inge Morath, Erich Hartmann and Eve Arnold.. He currently maintains a studio in New York City and in Bridgehampton, New York, where he does both commercial and fine art photography.

Cheng’s fine art photography is included in many private collections. He is the winner of the Heckscher Museum’s 2014 and 2016 Long Island Biennial.

Magnolia III, 2019, C print on aluminum with ultra non-glare plexi front, 30 x 40 in, edition of 9

Magnolia III, 2019, C print on aluminum with ultra non-glare plexi front, 30 x 40 in, edition of 9

Email for more info

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold work

PHILIPPE CHENG speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ YOU HAVE DEVELOPED A SIGNATURE STYLE WITH YOUR BLURRED PHOTOGRAPHS. WHAT’S BEHIND THIS?

PC/ My process simply really about translating and interpreting feelings to a surface. Technique, although interesting unto itself, is a means to an end. What really interests me are the feelings of a moment, of a place, of a line… A color field or gesture that can elicit an emotion.

CM/ DID THIS PROCESS EVOLVE FROM MORE TRADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY?

PC/ Many other parts of my creative life are done “in focus.” In fact, when I first started photographing here the images were in focus, but while beautiful, they did not speak to the emotion of being this place, in this air and light.

CM/ HOW DOES THIS AREA INFLUENCE OR INFILTRATE YOUR WORK?

PC/ Where to begin?

CM/ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR ON THE EAST END?

PC/ Every season presents an opportunity and the understanding of the East End light is an evolving process.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE SPOTS ON THE EAST END?

PC/ There is a wealth of this all here, so the answer depends on the moment, the season, the company… The short answer is no favorite, only surprised to find places that are around the corner without knowing they existed so close.

CM/ DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM THE HISTORY OF THE ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST MOVEMENT ON THE EAST END?

PC/ Self-explanatory in that it is inescapable.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

CAROLYN CONRAD

“Conrad’s “constructed” photos of stripped-down architectural forms have an unexpected painterly quality—serene yet powerful. Her lint and string assemblages in neutral tones are unique and beautifully nuanced.”
— Coco Myers

“During the last several years I have created three series of hand-built iconic structures, arranged in the studio then photographed in natural light. My intent was to compose the familiar landscapes of New England and Long Island by building small scale stage sets out of clay, wood, and canvas, then painting and drawing the back drops. The resulting rural scenes evoke an impression of loss and reverie. In the third of the series there is no narrative. Line and structure remain, implying interior and exterior space. Simplifying is what I like to do best.

The dryer lint work, minimal and process-based, is about collecting and assembling. One work can take up to a year to complete. Literally and metaphorically the pieces have been inspired by “working around the house.” The lint assemblages pare away as much as possible yet still continue to evoke the impressions of home and memory of place.

I have also begun a body of work assembling blocks of painted paper, binding them with string in a grid pattern. Collecting a number of bound blocks (or books), I assemble a low relief and abstract woven tableau. A single gridded block reveals the simplicity of form and material.

Concurrently, I am painting and staining paper, building up layers of paint, washing some layers away and leaving worn palimpsest surfaces of exterior sites and floor plans. I love the idea of building forms and spaces of a questionable entity.” — CC

Carolyn Conrad was born in Massachusetts and grew up in a rural town steeped in New England history, a large source of her inspiration. Her early art training at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and undergraduate work at Massachusetts College, helped form her minimalist and conceptual aesthetic. She first exhibited in and around Boston and then moved to New York City, where she received a MFA from New York University. She currently maintains a studio in Sag Harbor, NY.

Conrad’s work has been widely exhibited in galleries, institutions and museums. Exhibitions and installations include: Parrish Museum, Southampton, NY; Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY(solo); folioeast, East Hampton, NY; Pamela Williams Gallery, Amagansett, NY; Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT; Alex Ferrone Gallery, Cutchogue, NY; Art in General, New York, NY; Atlantic Gallery, New York, NY; Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis MA; Islip Museum, Islip, NY; Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; De Cordova Museum, Lincoln, MA; New England School of Photography (solo), Boston, MA; Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton, MA; and Cloitre des Billettes, Paris, France.

String Series #9, watercolor on paper, string, 18 x 24 in, $2,000

String Series #9, watercolor on paper, string, 18 x 24 in, $2,000

Email for more info

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold mixed media

CAROLYN CONRAD speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU PRIMARILY USE? AND WHY?

CC/ My favorite materials are paper, linen, canvas, clay, plaster, wood, watercolor and graphite/charcoal. I like materials that take and absorb stain—a material washed, rubbed, pressed into another surface. Edges usually blur or soften, implying times past.

CM/ CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE TECHNIQUES THAT YOU USE TO CREATE THE IMAGES OF HOUSES IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY?

CC/ The architecture of "house" and surroundings are my favored icons constructed or deconstructed in a minimal setting. For the last several years I have constructed stages in the studio for the images I photograph. I make the props in the photos with drawings, paintings and by sculpting and constructing, moving objects around and playing with the light before snapping the shutter. The process is limitless but the outcome can take days or weeks.

CM/ WHAT ABOUT YOUR NEW DRYER LINT PIECES AND STRING PIECES?

CC/ My dryer lint work has been ongoing for ten years. Like some of my other work, constructions or assemblage, they engage in a process of containment: How to keep delicate, fragile materials together. Binding stacks of paper gives me the satisfaction of order and control.

CM/ WHEN DID YOU MOVE OUT HERE?

CC/ I moved to Sag Harbor in 1997 with my son and husband after living for twenty years in SoHo. I felt a need to reconnect with my rural roots in New England and was also in need of a new expanded horizon.

CM/ SO THE AREA INSPIRES YOUR WORK?

CC/ Working with the "memory of place," my early beginnings in New England and now the East End of Long Island are definitive influencing factors.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY WORKS BY EAST END ARTISTS IN YOUR HOME? WHO WOULD LIKE TO OWN?

CC/ Mary Ellen Bartley, Linda Alpern, Jenny Gorman, James DeMartis, Eric Dever, Claire Watson, Toni Ross. Would love work by Mary Heilmann or Keith Sonnier.

CM/ ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR WORK/PROCESS?

CC/ I often think how much easier it would be to put pencil or paint to paper or canvas and not go through many steps before completion of a piece. But my work habits have been there for years and are part of my personality.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW of mixed media

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold painting

CAROLYN CONRAD

“Conrad’s “constructed” photos of stripped-down architectural forms have an unexpected painterly quality—serene yet powerful. Her lint and string assemblages in neutral tones are unique and beautifully nuanced.”
— Coco Myers

“During the last several years I have created three series of hand-built iconic structures, arranged in the studio then photographed in natural light. My intent was to compose the familiar landscapes of New England and Long Island by building small scale stage sets out of clay, wood, and canvas, then painting and drawing the back drops. The resulting rural scenes evoke an impression of loss and reverie. In the third of the series there is no narrative. Line and structure remain, implying interior and exterior space. Simplifying is what I like to do best.

The dryer lint work, minimal and process-based, is about collecting and assembling. One work can take up to a year to complete. Literally and metaphorically the pieces have been inspired by “working around the house.” The lint assemblages pare away as much as possible yet still continue to evoke the impressions of home and memory of place.

I have also begun a body of work assembling blocks of painted paper, binding them with string in a grid pattern. Collecting a number of bound blocks (or books), I assemble a low relief and abstract woven tableau. A single gridded block reveals the simplicity of form and material.

Concurrently, I am painting and staining paper, building up layers of paint, washing some layers away and leaving worn palimpsest surfaces of exterior sites and floor plans. I love the idea of building forms and spaces of a questionable entity.” — CC

Carolyn Conrad was born in Massachusetts and grew up in a rural town steeped in New England history, a large source of her inspiration. Her early art training at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and undergraduate work at Massachusetts College, helped form her minimalist and conceptual aesthetic. She first exhibited in and around Boston and then moved to New York City, where she received a MFA from New York University. She currently maintains a studio in Sag Harbor, NY.

Conrad’s work has been widely exhibited in galleries, institutions and museums. Exhibitions and installations include: Parrish Museum, Southampton, NY; Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY(solo); folioeast, East Hampton, NY; Pamela Williams Gallery, Amagansett, NY; Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT; Alex Ferrone Gallery, Cutchogue, NY; Art in General, New York, NY; Atlantic Gallery, New York, NY; Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis MA; Islip Museum, Islip, NY; Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; De Cordova Museum, Lincoln, MA; New England School of Photography (solo), Boston, MA; Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton, MA; and Cloitre des Billettes, Paris, France.

Moonlit Property, 2010, digital photograph, 31 x 39 in, edition of 6 (8 available)

Moonlit Property, 2010, digital photograph, 31 x 39 in, edition of 6 (8 available)

Email for more info

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold photographs

CAROLYN CONRAD speaks to folioeast’s COCO MYERS

CM/ WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU PRIMARILY USE? AND WHY?

CC/ My favorite materials are paper, linen, canvas, clay, plaster, wood, watercolor and graphite/charcoal. I like materials that take and absorb stain—a material washed, rubbed, pressed into another surface. Edges usually blur or soften, implying times past.

CM/ CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE TECHNIQUES THAT YOU USE TO CREATE THE IMAGES OF HOUSES IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY?

CC/ The architecture of "house" and surroundings are my favored icons constructed or deconstructed in a minimal setting. For the last several years I have constructed stages in the studio for the images I photograph. I make the props in the photos with drawings, paintings and by sculpting and constructing, moving objects around and playing with the light before snapping the shutter. The process is limitless but the outcome can take days or weeks.

CM/ WHAT ABOUT YOUR NEW DRYER LINT PIECES AND STRING PIECES?

CC/ My dryer lint work has been ongoing for ten years. Like some of my other work, constructions or assemblage, they engage in a process of containment: How to keep delicate, fragile materials together. Binding stacks of paper gives me the satisfaction of order and control.

CM/ WHEN DID YOU MOVE OUT HERE?

CC/ I moved to Sag Harbor in 1997 with my son and husband after living for twenty years in SoHo. I felt a need to reconnect with my rural roots in New England and was also in need of a new expanded horizon.

CM/ SO THE AREA INSPIRES YOUR WORK?

CC/ Working with the "memory of place," my early beginnings in New England and now the East End of Long Island are definitive influencing factors.

CM/ DO YOU HAVE ANY WORKS BY EAST END ARTISTS IN YOUR HOME? WHO WOULD LIKE TO OWN?

CC/ Mary Ellen Bartley, Linda Alpern, Jenny Gorman, James DeMartis, Eric Dever, Claire Watson, Toni Ross. Would love work by Mary Heilmann or Keith Sonnier.

CM/ ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR WORK/PROCESS?

CC/ I often think how much easier it would be to put pencil or paint to paper or canvas and not go through many steps before completion of a piece. But my work habits have been there for years and are part of my personality.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW OF PHOTOGRAPHY

ARTIST'S CAROUSEL

rotating exhibit of current & recently sold mixed media