Greenport exhibit features work by Southold High artists
Southold High School art students are getting their first shot at fame this month with a special show of their work at Springsteel Gallery in Greenport.
It’s the brainstorm of gallery owner Bernard Springsteel, who recently approached Southold art teacher Daniel Gosnell about having his students hold a group show at the Main Street gallery.
The show, which opened Friday and runs through March 10, features the works of eight of Mr. Gosnell’s students in grades 9-12, many of whom plan to study art in college. A reception for the students will be held Friday, March 4, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Among the 18 works on display are self-portraits in pencil and graphite stick, acrylic paintings on canvas as well as oils and watercolors.
Senior Ivy Croteau, who has two sketches and several paintings in the show, plans to minor in art and major in drama or creative writing. She hopes to attend Brown University in Providence, R.I., in part because of the college’s proximity to the Rhode Island School of Design.
Ivy’s schedule was too crowded this year to fit in a drawing and painting class, so she’s done most of her work in independent study with Mr. Gosnell.
“I love that student art can be put out in the community,” she said of the show.
Senior Pierce Baylis also has a self-portrait in the show. Pierce, who has applied to art schools ranging from the School of Visual Arts in New York to Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, said his primary influences are street art and the work of Shepard Fairey, the artist and designer most famous for the “Hope” poster that accompanied President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
“It’s a good experience,” he said.
Abigail Abrams, also a senior, has been working on paintings of silhouetted scenes, from an acrylic of elephants and trees to another of reeds at sunset. She said she was greatly inspired by art that Mr. Gosnell created during a 10-year journey through China in the 1990s.
Abigail plans to major in marine biology and minor in art and has been accepted to all six colleges where she’s applied.
“I was so honored that [Mr. Gosnell] told me I’d be in the show,” she said. “I plan to keep on with art. It’s a passion of mine.”
The show also includes a surreal painting of a ship sailing in the air, with a waterfall, heart and skull in the background, by senior Breton Worthington, who plans to study journalism in college.
A self-portrait by junior Aidan Mancini is also featured. Aidan had just learned Friday morning that his work would be part of the exhibit, and said his inclusion changed his perspective on whether he should show his work.
“I never really thought that I did anything I felt good enough to show yet,” he said.
The exhibit also includes works by Romy Faucher-Mayhew, Anna Mahaffy and Maria Purita.
“It’s a small gallery, so we had to be picky,” said Mr. Gosnell.
Student art exhibit
‘Emerging Southold High School Artists’ at Springsteel Gallery
419 Main St., Greenport
631-477-6818
On view Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Opening reception: Friday, March 4, 4 to 6 p.m.
