FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John Perreault:

Paintings and Sculptures

Opening reception:

Saturday April 5, 5-7pm

Exhibition: April 5 - May 11, 2025

We begin our ninth season the same way we began our first – with a solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures by the late John Perreault. Some of you may know that it was John who first invited us to visit Bellport back in 2011. A year later we moved here.

As our friendship grew, we discovered what an important fixture Perrault was in the NYC art world — as poet, artist, performer, teacher and most notably as an art critic during the 70s, 80s, and 90s. He never shied away from anything related to art, always pushing the boundaries, and his practice as a painter and sculptor were no exception.

Perreault knew his art history inside and out and was able to distill all that he had observed into conceptually vibrant works. His output knew no limitations and he ventured into a plethora of untraditional media and styles. He broke rocks and mended them back together; he repurposed thrift store artworks and painted on top of them; he taped, wrapped, and stacked store-bought canvases still in their cellophane wrappers; he bound two wheelbarrows with fishing line; he painted with sand, toothpaste, and instant coffee grounds; and painted/performed drip paintings unlike any others. And all these innovative explorations expressed a profound insight into visual phenomena, often with hilarious connotations.

Ruminating over his practice of several decades, Perreault told Art Experience NYC in 2011 that “making artworks is more like philosophical investigations, art criticism or yoga.”