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Heckscher Museum of Art

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'Parallax (Candles)' by Berenice Abbott, 1951, Gelatin silver print. Gift of Mr. Morton Brozinsky.

Currently on view at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington is Embracing the Parallax: Berenice Abbott and Elizabeth McCausland. The exhibition, which runs through March 30, features twenty-two gelatin silver prints from the collection with a focus on photographs from the important Changing New York series of the 1930s.

The celebrated photobook Changing New York (1939) was a collaboration between photographer Berenice Abbott (1898–1991) and her lifelong romantic partner, art critic and writer Elizabeth McCausland (1899–1965). Although recognized by art historians as a pivotal text of documentary photography, the published product was radically different from what the two women had envisioned.

‘Newsstand (32nd and Third Avenue)’ by Berenice Abbot, 1935. Gelatin silver print

“Abbott and McCausland wanted to redefine documentary photography’s function by examining transformation through the lens of a rapidly modernizing New York City. Instead, their publisher diluted their message, producing a tourist guidebook for visitors to the 1939 New York World’s Fair,” explained Jessica Rosen, Curatorial Assistant, who organized the exhibition.

Embracing the Parallax offers a new understanding of the women’s partnership by reuniting several of Abbott’s photographs with portions of McCausland’s original text.

The word parallax refers to an optical phenomenon where the position of an object appears to shift when observed from different viewpoints—whether it be a shift between the camera’s viewfinder and lens, or a shift in one’s perspective.

Rather than simply documenting modernization from the perspective of aesthetic shifts, Abbott and McCausland intended to capture the invisible social, economic, and political factors that catalyzed these changes in the built environment. They believed that documentary photography was a tool to initiate dialogue and foster civic responsibility.

“We cannot go on just looking at things on the surface,” Abbott said. “Real things today are conflict, contradictions, warfare, unbalance, lack of order, lack of reason—contrasts in a rapidly changing civilization.” Abbott and McCausland’s philosophy of photography demands that we relearn how to see.

As part of the Heckscher’s 2025 Pride initiative, this exhibition raises questions about the politics of visibility and invisibility by examining Abbott’s and McCausland’s intellectual partnership and romantic relationship. Abbott and McCausland’s collaborative projects demonstrate how documentary photography can be used as a tool to foster civic responsibility by exposing the invisible factors that shape our world.

Sponsored by Susan Van Scoy, Ph.D., Brian Katz & Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

About The Heckscher Museum of Art

Located at 2 Prime Avenue in Huntington, The Heckscher Museum of Art is in its second century as a source of art and inspiration on Long Island. Founded by philanthropists Anna and August Heckscher in 1920, the Museum’s collection comprises 2,300 artworks spanning the nineteenth century to the present. The Museum is committed to growing the collection to develop public awareness for the artists whose careers and life experiences can broaden our understanding of the past, foster community connections to the present, and create diverse possibilities for the future.

Located in scenic Heckscher Park in Huntington, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Continuing the legacy of the founders, free admission to the Museum for 2025 is supported through a generous grant from Bank of America. For more information, visit Heckscher.org.

 

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'Social Center/Barbershop' by Robert Graham Carter will be on view at The Heckscher Museum through May 25. Image courtesy of Heckscher Museum

By Tara Mae

Heritage, humanity, and hope are explored through works of legacy and lineage in Robert Graham Carter: The Art of Reflection. The exhibit at the Heckscher Museum of Art, from February 2 to May 25, 2025, encapsulates as it illuminates the past six decades of the artist’s career. 

“It’s a retrospective—a little glimpse into virtually all the stages and turning points within my art career. It’s interesting for me to see it put together like this—it gives you a perspective that you don’t get working day to day,” said Carter, who is also a long-time art professor at Nassau Community College.

Robert Graham Carter, Proud Queen, Tribute To My Wife, 1995 Wood and acrylic, Robert Graham Carter Family Collection

Featuring 22 artworks and several archival pieces, the show explores three themes central to Graham’s work: charm of childhood; importance of spirituality in his life; and, social inequities, with a concentration on topics that connect to Black experiences. 

“Mr. Carter came up with the three messages, or themes, he wanted to have the exhibit explore.  We selected the works with that focus,” Heckscher guest curator Sarah Battle said. Battle is affiliated with the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, where Carter is set to have an exhibition in 2027. 

Influenced by his youth in Louisville, Kentucky, during Jim Crow, and his adulthood and career on Long Island, the exhibit is an exchange between past and present as well as Carter and the audience. 

“It is really special to be able to see some early works in conversation with larger pieces,” Battle said. 

Art is the language Carter uses to discuss his individual narrative and how it is a chapter of a larger story. It evokes memories, moments, and imagination. 

“All of us wear many masks. For example, I am a father, a husband (before my wife passed), an educator, an artist, a neighbor, a friend, and on and on,” he said. “I found myself responding to the things that were interesting and important to me within these roles. I would end up making a series of works based on one of these masks.”

Robert Graham Carter
If Der Be Angels Then Some Must Look Like Me, c. 2000s,
Wood and acrylic, Robert Graham Carter Family Collection

His examination and meditation on these concepts are expressed through mixed media works from the 1970s-2010s, including pencil or pastels on paper; sketches; multi-scale paintings; and  sculptural components. One of Carter’s high-relief sculptural paintings, “Mama Taught Me Piano and Much More,” is part of the Heckscher’s permanent collection. 

The versatility of his form underscores the sometimes subtle vibrancy of his scenes, like striking portraits or snippets of everyday life.

“What draws me to them and his art in general is that it works on a couple of different levels; they usually reveal something personal, like a memory or experience of the artist and makes you reflect on your own memories or experiences,” Battle said. “Or, his art acts as commentary for the artist.”

These elements offer insight into both process and progress. Both the singular perspective and the collective understanding are presented as Carter’s art evokes emotional introspection and community celebration through subject and substance. 

“This has been a positive experience for me, and I hope that the people who see this exhibit are positively affected also. Basically, I feel that art is a communication process and for me I am hoping visitors have a good response,” Carter said. 

Admission to The Heckscher Museum of Art is free. Located at 2 Prime Avenue in Huntington, the museum is open Thursday through Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 631-380-3230 or visit www.heckscher.org.

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Children enjoy the event’s festivities at the Heckscher Museum of Art. Photo by Jennifer Donatelli
Children enjoy the event’s festivities at the Heckscher Museum of Art. Photo by Jennifer Donatelli
Children enjoy the event’s festivities at the Heckscher Museum of Art. Photo by Jennifer Donatelli
Children enjoy the event’s festivities at the Heckscher Museum of Art. Photo by Jennifer Donatelli

By Jennifer Donatelli

The Heckscher Museum of Art, located inside Heckscher Park in Huntington, celebrated Halloween with a free, family-friendly event on Sunday, Oct. 27, from noon to 5 p.m.

Held in conjunction with the museum’s new exhibit, “The Body Politic,” the event showcased how artists use different mediums to interact with and shape the world.

Young attendees received an activity worksheet and worked with their families to choose a favorite artwork on display at the museum. Adding to the fun, children and their families participated in a scavenger hunt throughout the museum, looking for portraits, landscapes, abstract art, and sculptures.

The young artists learned how looking closely at art helps us learn to observe artwork and the world around us more carefully.

Attendees created their own haunted Digital Action paintings, learned about collage-making, and designed spooky ghost crafts—all while learning how to interpret and appreciate various art forms.

“The purpose of this event,” said Joy Weiner, Director of Education and Public Programs for the Heckscher Museum, “is because many parents aren’t comfortable explaining art to their children or don’t know how to make it age-appropriate. The activity guide provides a series of questions to help children learn about art while having fun.”

Mary Porter, a museum docent, mentioned that the event has taken place biannually since 2010 and draws hundreds from the local community and across Long Island to experience art in a fun, hands-on environment.

Jane and Annie Mahoney, sisters from Queens, came with their parents and grandparents, planning to play on the playground but stayed for an hour to explore exhibits and make crafts.

Porter explained that the event is a great way to bring families to the museum, allowing adults to enjoy the artwork while children engage in activities.

Sawa, age 2; Koto, age 7; and Seisuke, age 4—siblings originally from Japan and now living in Syosset—enjoyed making Halloween crafts and learning about different cultures through artwork.

Gary Rubin, 6, from East Williston, came with his dad, both museum members who enjoy attending events. Wearing his Dracula costume with fake blood, Gary said he loved making crafts and had fun getting messy.

Upcoming events at the Heckscher Museum of Art include Artists in the Galleries, every Sunday in November and December from noon to 2 p.m. Visitors can meet the artists and learn about their work.

For more information on programs and exhibits, or to sign up for an event, visit www.heckscher.org.

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Heckscher Museum of Art

The $250,000 Prize Will Focus on 2025 LGBTQ+ Exhibitions and Programs

The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington has been awarded a significant grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through The Museums for America program. The $250,000 grant for The Heckscher Museum, the largest amount available, is one of 115 projects nationwide which garnered IMLS support, and was selected from hundreds of submissions nationally. 

“IMLS remains committed to serving the museum field and furthering the goals of the American public,” said IMLS Acting Director Cyndee Landrum. “The Museums for America program encourages applicants to be creative in their response to challenges, and to envision a bold future for their institution.”

“We are honored to accept this grant from IMLS,” said Museum Executive Director and CEO Heather Arnet.  “It further solidifies our commitment to serving our community and showcasing diverse artists and stories. As we look to 2025, we are excited to engage youth and intergenerational community members in a robust year of exhibitions and programming highlighting and celebrating LGBTQ+ history and artists.”

The focus for the year was inspired by the tenth anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the historic Supreme Court case recognizing same-sex couples’ right to marry, as well as by the Museum’s ongoing partnerships with active community and cultural organizations and artists.

“We are excited about the Museum’s 2025 Exhibition year, and its capacity to shine a light on LGBTQ+ artists,” shared Robert Vitelli, CEO, LGBT Network. “This exhibition year also provides an opportunity to highlight the important role that New York and Long Island have played in LGBT history and the contributions our community has made to the arts and to advancing civil rights for all people.” 

Thanks to the IMLS grant, The Heckscher Museum of Art will center community members in a collaborative effort to develop exhibitions and public programming highlighting major works by LGBTQ+ artists, including Berenice Abbott, Marsden Hartley, Betty Parsons, the PaJaMa collective (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French), Alice Rahon, Robert Rauschenberg and many more. The year will also mark the first-ever solo exhibition of American neoclassical sculptor Emma Stebbins (1815–1882). The grant allows the Museum to elevate and interpret experiences of LGBTQ+ figures in American Art, past and present, to deepen and expand relationships in the community, and to engage community members in exhibition and programming development.

Additional 2025 Partners

“My work as Guest Curator on the exhibition planned at The Heckscher for the summer of 2025, will fill the entire Museum with pieces from the Museum’s collection connected to the LGBTQ+ community. I look forward to collaborating with curatorial, education, and outreach staff and members of the Museum’s LGBTQ+ Youth Advisory Board and Community Advisory Board throughout this process,” shared Victoria Munro, Executive Director, Alice Austen House.

“This project represents a logical progression and continuation of the Museum’s strategic goals and mission to connect with and engage community,” said Evangeline J. Knell, Owner / Creative Director Identity Digital Inc. “I have had the pleasure of collaborating with The Heckscher Museum of Art, developing community-driven exhibition content, engaging middle school girls from Girls Inc. Long Island to create a Soundwalk, creating story-telling video interviews with diverse members of the Huntington community, and interviewing Executive Director, Heather Arnet, for our goinglocal.tv program for Huntington Pride. I am honored to have been asked to be a member of the Community Advisory Board who will work on this project.”

About The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. The Museum for America program supports museums of all sizes and disciplines in strategic, project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, professional development, community debate and dialogue, audience-focused studies, and collections.

To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About The Heckscher Museum of Art
The Heckscher Museum of Art is in its second century as a source of art and inspiration on Long Island. Founded by philanthropists Anna and August Heckscher in 1920, the Museum’s collection comprises 2,300 artworks spanning the nineteenth century to the present. The Museum is committed to growing the collection to develop public awareness for the artists whose careers and life experiences can broaden our understanding of the past, foster community connections to the present, and create diverse possibilities for the future. Located in scenic Heckscher Park in Huntington, NY, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Continuing the legacy of the founders, free admission to the Museum for 2025 is supported through a generous grant from Bank of America.  Heckscher.org

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Museum Palette Café

The Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington invites the community to a ribbon cutting and grand opening of its Museum Palette Café on Friday, Aug. 2 at noon. 

The event, which will be attended by Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, Assemblyman Keith P. Brown,  TOH Cultural Affairs Greg Wagner, and Marc Perez, president of Bank of America Long Island, will be followed by live music and free art activities for families through 2 p.m.

Enjoy tasty bites and a beautiful view of Heckscher Park in this new outdoor space on the Museum’s terrace from Off the Bone, the first of in a rotating roster of local food trucks. The café includes seating for up to thirty-six people. Food trucks will provide delicacies for guests each Friday between noon and 5 p.m. through Sept. 27. A diverse range of cuisines curated by Black, Indigenous, and female chef owners of color will be featured. Seating on the terrace will be accessible year-round and includes wheelchair accessible/ADA approved tables.

The café has been made possible thanks to a $100,000 grant through the Suffolk County JumpStart program and the support of Former County Executive Steve Bellone, Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, and Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth.

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Public officials from the Town of Huntington celebrate new downtown revitalization stimulus funds for local communities. Photo from Stephanie Bontempi’s office. Photo from Leg. Bontempi's office

On October 31, at Heckscher Park, Legislator Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport) joined with her colleagues in government to announce the local recipients of the Suffolk County JumpStart and JumpSMART grant programs.  Combined, these two programs are focused on stimulating downtown revitalization, economic activity (especially tourism) and the arts.

The organizations and/or projects receiving the funds are: Huntington downtown parking and waterfront improvements ($1.25 million –JumpStart); Greenlawn downtown streetscape improvements ($650,000 JumpStart); 1653 Foundation – Artists Alley in Huntington downtown ($250,000); Heckscher Museum of Art – development of an outdoor café on the terrace of the museum ($100,000); Huntington African American Museum ($500,000); Huntington Arts Council – door and window replacement and ADA upgrades ($157,000); Huntington Cultural Affairs Institute – Chapin Stage ($170,000); Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society – electric hookup for overnight guests and humidity control ($100,000); YMCA of Long Island – Huntington ($500,000); and The Whaling Museum and Education Center – expansion of museum ($300,000).

“This is an exciting time to be in the Town of Huntington,” said Bontempi.  “All of these projects will add so much to not only our local economy, but our enjoyment of our community.  This will also attract visitors from near and far. Huntington is a special place.”

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'Illuminations' will be presented during the Long Island Fall Festival on Oct. 7 and 8. Photo courtesy of Heckscher Museum

By Tara Mae 

As Columbus Day weekend draws near, many look forward to the annual Long Island Fall Festival at beautiful Heckscher Park in Huntington. Presented by the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the four day event, from Oct. 6 to 9, will feature carnival rides, an international food court, music, over 300 vendors, and much more. 

One of the highlights of this year’s festival is a multimedia art installation titled Illuminations 2023: The Many Faces of Home.

If home is where the heart is, then leaving one home for another is perhaps a sort of heart transplant. A fresh lease on life: wistful and wondrous. On Oct. 7 and 8, from 7 to 8 p.m., the digital art show will spotlight the physical and emotional journeys immigrants undertake as they settle in foreign places and seek to make them familiar. 

Featuring the work by Stony Brook University adjunct art professor and digital artist Han Qin as well as other international artists, this digital art show features three intricately connected yet distinctive works, which will be projected onto the facade of an artistic hearth: the Heckscher Museum of Art located in Heckscher Park.

“It feels like the perfect space for such an event,” said Heather Arnet, Executive Director of the Heckscher Museum.

My New Home, by Qin, depicts and celebrates the immigration experience through a 3D image projection showing portraits of diverse community members who immigrated to Huntington and made it home. 

Journey Home, also by Qin, is an animated film projection. In ocean hues, it spotlights a school of fish that transforms into groups of people swimming to their new island home.  

The Grand Finale is a collaborative collection of engaging animation by six different international artists: Blake Carrington, Koi Ren, Yehwan Song, Silent Desautels, Shuyi Li, and Colton Arnold. 

The show is choreographed to original music composed by Professor Margaret Schedel, co-director of Stony Brook University’s Computer Music Program. “Margaret’s music…has dark energy that transforms into immense joy,” Illuminations co-curator Chiarina Chen said.

Shown consecutively, the elements of Illuminations likewise take patrons on a sojourn of the soul: from pensive introspection to audacious hope. The show immerses its audience in artistic excavation of existential inquiries. 

These questions were initially posited by Qin as part of her continuous exploration of, and meditation on, the identity quandaries immigrants may endure as they transition from their homeland to the precarious promise of a settled future. 

“My digital art piece works with the community of immigrants who speak different languages on Long Island. Its purpose is to show this group of marginalized immigrants — who they are looking to become or who their kids are looking to become, who holds the community together…this is a self-help project to figure out who those immigrants become,” Qin said. 

Such an investigation is personal for Qin who, during lockdown, began examining feeling adrift in her own immigrant identity: not quite of China, her nation of birth, nor the United States, her country of choice. 

“I was looking for a way to find people who know who they are,” Qin added. She got involved with different organizations that focused on the immigrant experiences of adolescents and adults. The relationships she formed through these endeavors answered questions her art was striving to ask.   

With a New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) grant processed through the Patchogue Arts Council, she was able to develop her artistic thesis from a intuitive theory into an expansive experience. 

As Qin crafted personal connections that revealed uncovered communal correlations, she utilized her professional network to recruit colleagues in curating and creating the third segment of Illuminations. 

“We invited six very interesting, talented international artists of various backgrounds. We have six parts in that: traversing memories, dreams, identities that are searching for belonging-cohesive with unique parts…digital art can be a public art form that brings people together, a sort of enchantment,” Chen said. “When connected stories are projected on the building, it becomes another level of togetherness.”  

Schedel’s music both belies and enhances the union. She composed six segments of music. Each has its own tempo and mini theme that nonetheless coalesces into a cohesive whole. Included in the piece are interviews with community leaders as well as water sounds; many people interviewed mentioned water as part of their immigration experience.

“It is a piece of music I composed to go along with the timeline that Han and I developed together, thinking of structure, movement, and emotion,” Schedel said. 

In its entirety, Illuminations is a medley of form, motion, and feeling. At its essence, the art is an overture of communal acceptance and understanding.  

“Illuminations celebrates immigrants, their influence on our community, and why they chose Long Island…It [seems] like a wonderful opportunity for the museum,” Arnet said. 

This is the Hecksher Museum’s first exhibition specifically designed for the Long Island Fall Festival, although the concept of home is one that is currently studied in its Raise the Roof exhibit, which is a study of the spaces people inhabit. 

Arnet approached Qin, who has pieces in the museum’s permanent collection, about doing a digital art projection on the front of the building. Qin was already in the process of developing My New Home and Journey Home. Illuminations was born of those discussions.

“What is exciting is that we are trying something new, which always involves risk. This is innovative, we are trying out the unknown, none of us quite know what it will be like…I am very interested in moving beyond four walls, engaging community in unique ways,” Arnet said.

Illuminations 2023: The Many Faces of Home at the Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington is free to the public. For more information, call 631-380-3230 or visit www.heckscher.org

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'Rabbit Rabbit,' colored pencil by Margaret Minardi of Northpor

Currently on view at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington is the 2022 Long Island Biennial, a prestigious juried exhibition featuring works by contemporary artists from Suffolk and Nassau Counties. 

Now in its seventh edition, the Biennial presents a cross section of Long Island contemporary art. “The public will enjoy learning more about the most recent work of the Long Island’s established and emerging artists,” said The Heckscher Museum’s Curator, Dr. Karli Wurzelbacher. 

“I am especially impressed by the ways in which many of the artists engaged with the concerns of our time, from social justice, to health, to ecology; and appreciate those who brought new approaches to traditional materials and techniques,” she said. 

This year’s exhibit encompasses a remarkable variety of media, with styles spanning abstraction to hyperrealism. “Contemporary art has been essential to the Museum since its founding more than 100 years ago,” said Heather Arnet, Executive Director & CEO. “We remain committed to sharing inspiring and thought-provoking new art with our visitors.”

The Museum received 732 artist entries, with jurors Heather Carter, Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso, and Susan Van Scoy selecting 95 works for exhibition. 

Five exhibiting artists were designated as Award of Merit winners including Darlene Blaurock of Wantagh; Neil Leinwohl or Rockville Centre; Patricia Maurides of Sag Harbor; Margaret Minardi of Northport; and Kasmira Mohanty of Farmingville.

A diverse program of events will coincide with the exhibition. Long Island Biennial artists will be in the galleries on Oct. 16, Nov. 6, Nov. 30, Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. Meet the artists behind the artwork., free with admission.

In addition, the museum will host a Biennial Open Studios Day featuring artists Edward Acosta, Sally Edelstein, Mike Krasowitz, William Low, and Gina Mars on Oct. 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hop from one studio to the next for behind-the-scenes access and learn about a variety of media and techniques. Tickets to this event are $25 per person with registration required at www.heckscher.org.  

In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, the museum will host a free Dual Language Family Hour with Educators Tami Wood and Karini Gaminez on Oct. 16 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Children ages 5 to 10 will enjoy a family art experience in both Spanish and English. 

Visitors may also take part in an ongoing Mini Audio Tour of Long Island Biennial by artist and Biennial juror Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso featuring an audio tour of selected works in the exhibition in both Spanish and English.

Sponsored by Robin T. Hadley and the Cunniff Family, the 2022 Long Island Biennial will be on view at the Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington through Jan. 22, 2023. For more information, call 631-380-3230 or visit www.heckscher.org. 

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'Red Flower Rain' by Hung Liu, mixed media on panel, from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer will be on view at the Heckscher Museum through Sept. 18. Image courtesy of The Heckscher Museum

The Heckscher Museum of Art’s latest offering features a vibrant and timely exhibition on contemporary Asian and Asian American art. Drawn from the multifaceted collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, the exhibit, titled Global Asias,  examines the cosmopolitan, exuberant, and subtly subversive works of 15 artists of Asian heritage who are adept at crossing borders — not only physical ones, but also those in media, styles, genre, and materials. The show opened June 4 and runs through Sept. 18.

Global Asias invites viewers to think about Asia not in singular but plural terms — encouraging audiences to understand Asia as a site of meaning across the globe. The artists in Global Asias were born in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Argentina, and the United States. The exhibition provides an opportunity to move away from considering Asia as a geographical location and instead invites viewers to think broadly about how “Asia” has long served as an imaginative construct.

Featured artists include Kwang Young Chun, Hung Liu, Do Ho Suh, Jacob Hashimoto, Mariko Mori, Akio Takamor, Manabu Ikeda, Hiroki Morinoue, Barbara Takenaga, Jun Keneko, Takashi Murakami, Rirkrit Tirayanija, Dinh Q. Lê, Roger Shimomra and Patti Warashina.

The exhibition was curated by Chang Tan, Assistant Professor of Art History and Asian Studies, Penn State. 

“The artists included in this exhibition open our eyes to what it is like to cross boundaries both real and cultural,” said collector Jordan Schnitzer, whose family has a longstanding history of championing Asian art and culture. “I hope each viewer is as moved as I am by this exhibition and is challenged and inspired by the art. The power of this exhibition will influence all of us for years to come.”

“Global Asias is brimming with fascinating work by internationally renowned artists. As the only East Coast venue for the exhibition, The Heckscher Museum has a unique opportunity to share this timely art with communities across Long Island and beyond,” added curator Karli Wurzelbacher.

Organized by the Palmer Museum of Art, the 45 works in Global Asias are presented through three themes: Exuberant Forms, Moving Stories, and Asias Reinvented. The artists include New York based artists Jacob Hashimoto and Barbara Takenaga.  

Exuberant Forms features works that reshape and challenge conventional views of abstract art by exploring new materials, techniques, and metaphors. Kwang Young Chun (b. 1944) exploits the texture of handmade papers in his somber monochromes, while Jacob Hashimoto (b. 1973) mimics the effect of collage in his tour-de-force prints. Jun Kaneko (b. 1942) “flattens” traditional raku ware into explosive two-dimensionality. Hiroki Morinoue (b. 1947) and Barbara Takenaga (b. 1949) create intricate geometric patterns to evoke natural formations. 

Moving Stories brings together powerful works that reflect on the experiences of migration, both within Asia and beyond.  Dinh Q. Lê (b.1968) appropriates and masks iconic images of the Vietnam War. Hung Liu (1948-2021) finds inspiration in historical photographs, reinterpreting the genre of portraiture through the lens of displaced and voluntary immigrants. Roger Shimomura (b. 1939) borrows the visual language of Japanese woodblock prints and Pop art to render the lives of Japanese Americans incarcerated in internment camps during World War II.  Do Ho Suh (b. 1962) and Rirkrit Tiravanjia (b. 1961) map their own diasporic trajectories, literally and metaphorically.

Asias Reinvented highlights two- and three-dimensional works that transform styles and motifs of traditional Asian art to engage, probe, and critique contemporary popular culture and politics. The Pop- and manga-inflected fantasies of Takashi Murakami (b. 1962) and Mariko Mori (b. 1967) are rooted in both the artisanal heritages and the consumerist trends of Japan. Akio Takamori (1950–2017) and Patti Warashina (b. 1940) turn seemingly innocent motifs into uncanny portrayals of life, love, and death. Manabu Ikeda (b. 1973) evokes Hokusai’s famous waves to create a surreal scene of planetary apocalypse.

Following The Heckscher Museum of Art, this national touring show will travel to Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana, Oct. 13, 2022 through Jan. 15, 2023; and USC Pacific Asia Art Museum, Pasadena, California, March 10 through June 25, 2023. A catalog accompanies the exhibition and includes 73 color images, and a collector’s statement published by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.

The Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Avenue, Huntington presents Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation through Sept. 18.  Viewing hours are Thursday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 631-380-3230 or visit wwww.heckscher.org.    

RELATED PROGRAMS

Art in Bloom

June 11 and 12 from noon to 5 p.m.

The Heckscher Museum announces the third annual Art in Bloom program. Twelve floral arrangements will be featured that draw inspiration from artworks on view in Moonstruck: Lunar Art from the Collection and Global Asias: Contemporary Asian & Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. These exhibitions provide a diverse array of artworks to inspire designers from the Museum’s four garden club partners: North Country Garden Club (Oyster Bay), North Suffolk Garden Club (Stony Brook), South Side Garden Club (Bay Shore), and Three Harbors Garden Club (Cold Spring Harbor).

Woodblock Printing with BIG INK

Free Community Event

July 9 and 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

BIG INK, Inc. and The Heckscher Museum team up to host two days of large-scale woodblock printing at the Museum. In addition to their oversized printing press Big Tuna, there will be fun print activities for kids and families throughout the weekend. 

Saturday participants include Paul Farinacci, Sueey Gutierrez, Eve Hammer, Joan Kim Suzuki, Janet Lust Ganes, Maureen Palmieri, Han Qin and Constance Sloggatt Wolf. Sunday participants include Leila Atkinson, Mei Fung Elizabeth Chan, Nicholas Frizalone, Michael Krasowitz, Crisoula Lazaridis, Cara Lynch, Jessica Struzinski, Amanda Vollers. The program has been organized in coordination with the exhibition Global Asias: Contemporary Asian & Asian American Art from the Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.

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'This is Who I Am' by Ashley Park
'Bowerbird's Baubles' by Anjali Gauld
'Sing e Aahan' (Women of Steel) by Khizran Fatima
'Tattered Flesh' by Charlotte Quintero

By Tara Mae

Proud portraits. Mixed media meditations. Vibrant colors and muted tones. A true exploration of artistic expression, the 26th annual Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum student exhibition is now on view in Huntington through May 29.

Jurors Karli Wurzelbacher, (Curator, at The Heckscher Museum), and local artist Emily Martin (a weaver, installation artist, and textile designer) had the difficult task of selecting 79 works out of 399 entries from 55 different schools. “It is our most competitive year yet,” said Director of Visitor Experience Kristina Schaaf.

Top awards went to four distinct mixed media works of art. 11th grader Ashley Park of Half Hollow Hills High School West won the  Celebrate Achievement Best in Show award for This is Who I Am; 12th grader Anjali Gauld of Manhasset High School received Second Place for Bowerbird’s Baubles; 12th grader Khizran Fatima of Hicksville High School captured Third Place for Sinf e Aahan (Women of Steel); 12th grader Charlotte Quintero of Hicksville High School received Fourth Place for Tattered Flesh. 

“Long Island’s Best is a way to highlight the talent we have in our communities and connect it with the public. People come in and cannot believe that teenagers have created such high caliber art,” said Director of Education and Public Programs Joy Weiner.

The museum is an educational institution at its core and Long Island’s Best is the culmination of its school outreach program. High school art teachers arrange for their students to visit the museum either in person, or since the pandemic began, virtually. 

Educators at the museum guide the students through detailed study and discourse about works of art; students then select the works of art that most appeal to them as   inspiration for their own pieces. Participants include Artist Statements in their submissions, describing their methods, inspirations, and reactions to what they saw in the museum, as well as how it led them to creating their art. 

“Jurors reading about their work in their own words is a huge part of the process; it is so important for students to have to speak about what they are making,” Schaaf said. “The statements are also on view in exhibition. We take what every student has written about their process and ideas and we put it on the walls. Visitors hear from students themselves when they visit and we include little images of works that inspired them.” 

There are two awards that have not yet been determined: Visitors’ Choice, for which museum-goers may vote in person and Virtual Visitors Choice, for which website viewers may vote online. 

In addition to the month-long exhibition in the galleries, Mitchell’s, the Huntington-based retailer, and Firefly Gallery in Northport are currently showing select student works in their stores through May. 

Beyond the immediate satisfaction of having their efforts recognized, guest juror Martin, a finalist in Long Island’s Best when she was a junior at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School in 2014, identifies with the impact participating in the exhibit can have on the students. 

“I was always interested in art, but was unsure if it would be something I would pursue until I got into the LI Best show. Being chosen for this exhibit jump started my journey to become an artist,” Martin said. 

The Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Avenue, Huntington is open Thursday to Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. $5 admission is suggested for adults, free for children under the age of 13. For more information, call 631-380-3230 or visit www.heckscher.org.

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