SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25

ROSS BLECKNER: NEVER THE LESS

Ross Bleckner emerged as a leading artist in New York during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, creating paintings that explore change, loss, memory, and the human body. A central figure in the decade’s revival of painting, he developed a practice that merges psychological, social, and political themes within a strong conceptual framework. In 1995, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York presented a mid-career retrospective of his work, underscoring his importance in contemporary art.

NEVER THE LESS will highlight a lesser-known part of Bleckner’s process, offering new insight into one of the most prolific painters of our time. Bleckner begins by making his own paint and testing it on black paper, where the experimental brushwork often produces striking results. From there, he creates a series of small canvases that gradually increase in scale, leading to the large paintings for which he is best known.

Over decades, this approach has yielded hundreds—if not thousands—of works. Guild Hall presents a selection of these rarely seen studies alongside major large-scale paintings. While rooted in process, the smaller works stand powerfully on their own. Together, they reveal the breadth of Bleckner’s artistic vision, offering an expansive view of his practice across time—an illustrated timeline through painting.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25

ERIC FREEMAN: THE VOLUME OF COLOR

This exhibition marks the first major institutional solo presentation of Eric Freeman’s work in the East End, where the artist lived and worked for many years. Freeman’s radiant abstractions transform color into planes of light and pigment that construct space rather than merely depict it. Layers of luminous varnish and saturated tone generate a visual depth that feels structural—at times almost architectural—drawing viewers into fields of color defined by both intensity and calm.

The Volume of Color brings together a selection of paintings alongside a small group of furniture pieces designed by Freeman, revealing a practice shaped by the productive tension between control and emotion, precision and presence. His work enters into quiet dialogue with the legacies of Josef Albers, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko, and James Turrell. Freeman’s subtly modulated surfaces, sleek yet unmistakably hand-painted, balance intellectual rigor with sensory immediacy, collapsing distinctions between painting, object, and environment.

Presented following the artist’s death in 2021, the exhibition honors Freeman’s sustained contribution to contemporary abstraction and affirms his lasting connection to the East End’s artistic landscape, where his work quietly expanded the possibilities of color, light, and spatial experience.

MUSEUM, LOBBY BOX OFFICE, & COFFEE BAR HOURS:

The museum will open on Sunday, August 9, to the general public.

Wednesday-Sunday, 12-5 PM
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Museum Admission:
$12 | $10 for Seniors 65+ (Free for Members, Children, Students, and Active Military/ Veterans)

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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Visual Arts programs are supported by Principal Sponsors Lucio and Joan Noto, with additional support provided by The Giuppy Nantista Fund, The Hoie Fund, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, The Michael Lynne Museum Endowment, and Vital Projects Fund.  

Additional support provided by Friends of the Museum: Danielle Mandelbaum Anderman, Shari and Jeff Aronson, The Artist Profile Archive, William L. Bernhard, Elizabeth Gordon and Woody Heller, The Hayden Family Foundation, Robert Longo and Sophie Chahinian, Elin and Michael Nierenberg, Onna House, Lori and John Reinsberg, Jeff and Audrey Spiegel, Hillary and Jeff Suchman, Jane Wesman and Don Savelson, and Yurman Family Foundation.

ROSS BLECKNER: NEVER THE LESS

This exhibition is organized by Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts, with support from Philippa Content, museum manager and registrar and Claire Hunter, museum coordinator and curatorial associate.

Principal Sponsors: Caroline and Robert Taubman – A. Alfred Taubman Foundation

Lead Sponsors: The FLAG Art Foundation, Ellen Katz, Barbara and Richard S. Lane, Petzel, New York, The Riggio Foundation, and Fiona and Eric Rudin

Additional Support: Roberta Amon, Lorinda Ash and William Rubenstein, Suzanne and Bob Cochran, Calvin Klein, Ninah Lynne, Nicole Miller and Kim Taipale, Steve and Susan Pesner and Peace, in memory of Michéle Pesner, whose entire life was devoted to all aspects of culture, and Jane Wesman and Don Savelson

ERIC FREEMAN: THE VOLUME OF COLOR

This exhibition is co-curated by artist Nathan Dilworth and Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts with support from Philippa Content, museum manager and registrar and Claire Hunter, museum coordinator and curatorial associate.

Lead Sponsors: Christina and Alan MacDonald

Additional Support: Isabel and Alexandra Blum, Steve and Susan Pesner and Peace, in memory of Michéle Pesner, whose entire life was devoted to all aspects of culture, and David Schwarz and Brian Meola

PHOTOS:

Ross Bleckner, Untitled, 2001. Oil on canvas. 8 x 10 inches

Eric Freeman, Beach Lane, 2004. Oil on linen. 72 x 72 inches

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