Dan’s Papers August 19, 2011 Arts & entertainment danshamptons.com Page 89
Two Art Openings in Bellport have been on exhibit at the By Elise D’Haene Xiang Sha Wan Art Palace in It will be well worth it to take Inner Mongolia, China. From the drive west to the charming Yosemite to Mongolia—that’s village of Bellport on Saturday, wonderful. August 20, for two exhibit At the Gallery 125, also on openings and receptions. Plus, Country Road, an exhibit of Bellport is a lovely place to paintings by Arthur Pinajian, spend an afternoon and evening “The Bellport Years,” will of shopping and dining, so this be shown. The reception is is a win-win all around. Saturday, August 20, from 5:30 At Pamela Lerner Antiques to 6:30 p.m. from 6 to 8 p.m., the renowned There’s a terrific story behind photographer of the American this show, which makes seeing West Bob Kolbrener will the work all that more enticing. make his first Long Island The artist painted in obscurity appearance. A protégé of Ansel until his death in 1999 at the Adams who was asked by age of 85. He shared a oneAdams to teach at his Yosemite story cottage with his sister, workshops, Kolbrener has who supported him, in Bellport. worked alongside photography Pinajian’s cache of paintings, greats such as Yousuf Karsh, Photography by Bob Kolbrener in the thousands, was found Imogen Cunningham and Wynn abandoned and stacked in the garage and attic of Bullock. His work, like that of Adams, captures the his sister’s property, along with journals, letters and “inherent qualities of space and scale of the ever- sketchbooks that chronicled 50 years of his creative life. The discovery was featured in a front-page arts changing landscape,” especially in Yosemite. “Bob Kolbrener: From the Mountains to the Sea” story in The New York Times in 2007. Since then, will feature 25 of the photographer’s best-known his work has been exhaustively researched by art images dating from 1968-2001. The beauty of this historians and a book was published called Pinajian: kind of exhibit is to see the evolution of the artist’s Master of Abstraction Discovered, published last eye over time. Kolbrener has continued Adams’ year. There is one chapter in the book on the tradition of “straight” photography. “I print up to striking similarities between Pinajian and Kurt 40 by 50 inches the ‘old fashioned way’ using fiber Vonnegut’s protagonist in his novel Bluebeard: The -based paper, tray processing and selenium toner. My Autobiography of Rabo Karabekian (1916–1988). goal is to produce prints which truly celebrate those (To read excerpts about this theory go to www. most exciting photographic moments,” Kolbrener PinajianArt.com.) “What is so remarkable about Pinajian is his said. After his Long Island appearance, he will be heading to China where he is being honored at an wholehearted dedication to the process of painting. international photography exhibit. His landscapes He pursued his goals in isolation with the single-
Painting by Arthur Pinajian
minded focus of a Gauguin or Cezanne, refusing to give up in the face of public indifference. In his later years he could be compared to a researcher in a laboratory pursuing knowledge for its own sake,” wrote William Innes Homer, a professor emeritus at the University of Delaware and one of the contributors to the book. Peter Hastings Falk, another contributor, will fill in more of the fascinating details about this discovery and on Pinajian’s significance on August 25 at 6 p.m.. Pamela Lerner Antiques, 145 South Country Road, Bellport. 631-776-2183. Exhibit can be seen through September 10, Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.5:30 p.m., Monday and Tuesday by appointment. Gallery 125, 125 Country Road, Bellport. 631-8802693. Exhibit can be seen through September 11. Hours are Friday, 4-9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-9p.m. (closed for an hour at noon), and Sundays, 9 a.m. to noon.
6237