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POSTER ARTIST
TONI ROSS The poster art for the 2021 edition is Finding Beauty in a Dark Place, from artist and HIFF co-founder and founding Chairman of the Board, Toni Ross. Toni Ross is a conceptual artist using time-honored material and site-responsive installation to explore themes of political and social distress. Born and raised in New York City, Toni attended Wesleyan University where she studied ceramics and fine art, graduating with a BA in Film Studies. Her practice embraces fiber, installation, sculpture, and works on paper. Toni has participated in artist residencies as a Yaddo Fellow and at The Watermill Center. Recent works include In Light Of at The Leiber Collection in Springs, NY; Today Cannot Be Tomorrow (2020) at C.A.R.E. Ltd, When (2020) for Drive By Art, Sanctuary Entwined (2017-18) at Longhouse Reserve in East Hampton; Found Lines (2018) at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA; April 13 (2016) at the Parrish Art Museum; and Permanent Transience (2016) for the Parrish Road Show. Toni is also a member of the artist collective No W here. As the founding Chairman of the Board of HIFF in 1993 and for the ensuing five years, she brought to the organization a deep knowledge and passion for film, and a cultivation of artistic integrity outside of the fine arts. Photo: Jenny Gorman
As a social activist, Toni is also a founder of The Hayground School, where she has focused on the importance of diversity, removing barriers due to financial constraints and arts and culinary education. Ross is also a restaurant entrepreneur, with five East End favorites including Nick & Toni’s, and a supporter of Guild Hall, OLA, and Planned Parenthood, among other non-profit organizations. In a prescient move, Ross founded and curates the biennial series “Women Artists: Reshaping the Conversation” in East Hampton. Toni Ross lives and works in Manhattan and Wainscott, NY.
You are invited to view Toni’s extraordinary new piece Finding Beauty in a Dark Place, which will be on public display at The Watermill Center from October 7-17.
