Art exhibits celebrate chapters in Black history
February 7, 2023 - Mary Gregory
The history of Black artists on Long Island is rich, deep and still being written. Sometimes, with help, history repeats itself. This month offers chances to revisit pivotal exhibitions of previous decades and witness the cultural significance of Black artists in the area.
Featuring four Black artists whose work deserves a reassessment, is "Return to a Place by the Sea" at The Church in Sag Harbor. Co-curators April Gornik and Sara Cochran reunited East End abstractionists who worked and showed together for decades, placing art from a 1999 exhibition side-by-side with recent pieces from Nanette Carter, Gregory Coates, Al Loving, and Frank Wimberley. Paintings, sculptures, and installations filled with what Cochran describes as "joy" open new windows into both the genre and Long Island's place in art. "I'm happy that we're looking at all kinds of history," said Gornik, "of artists who've mutually supported each other, and then being part of righting the wrong of Black artists being ignored, and of this being such a wonderful part of Sag Harbor's history." Cochran noted, "Sag Harbor was a safe harbor for their creativity."
WHAT "Return to A Place by the Sea"
WHEN | WHERE Through May 27, 12-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, The Church, 48 Madison St., Sag Harbor
INFO Free; 631-919-5342, thechurchsagharbor.org
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