CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Adriana at the Panoramic (2002) by Michael Dweck; Mermaid 41 (2007) by Michael Dweck; Andy, Bobby and Elvis (1965) by Nat Finkelstein; Andy Warhol with Sam Green, Edie Sedgwick, Gerard Malanga; ICA Gallery, Philadelphia (1965) by Charles Steiner; Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, Red Ball Paris (1980) by Bob Colacello
SUMMER ON THE EAST END is crowded and crazy. My favorite time is September and October, when the surf’s still warm and the scene has cooled—but the people-watching is still first-rate. And for voyeurism in climate-controlled quietude, catch some shows of portrait photography at local galleries. Stare at starlets, ogle moguls and marvel at mermaids to your heart’s content.
At the new East Hampton outpost of Eric Firestone Gallery (4 Newtown Lane, 631-604-2386; ericfirestonegallery.com), a recently closed exhibit brought the world of Andy Warhol to life with more than 150 photographs from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Works by photographers Peter Beard, Annie Leibovitz and Bob Broder, among others, showcased the original King of Pop and his Factory courtiers; guests at the early June opening included Warhol superstar Taylor Mead, fashion designer Lisa Perry and collector and curator Beth Rudin DeWoody, who loaned many of her own pieces to the exhibit. Don’t worry if you missed it—Firestone still has many of the images in his inventory, and the gallery’s website features a terrific video of highlights.
Bob Colacello, a former editor at Warhol’s Interview magazine, captured the hedonistic art and social scenes of the late ’70s and early ’80s through his own lens. First featured in his 2007 book Out, Colacello’s vintage prints— of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall and others—appeared in “Generations Collide,” a group show at Tripoli Gallery of Contemporary Art (30 Jobs Lane, Southampton, 631-903- 9220; tripoligallery.com).
Around the corner at the Keszler Gallery (9 Main St., Southampton, 631-204-0353; keszlergallery.com), a solo exhibition of Michael Dweck’s photography just opened. Through flowers, swimming female nudes, the denizens of Montauk’s fishing community and restless surfing subculture, Dweck evokes “the paradise of summer, youth and erotic possibility,” according to photography specialist and editor Christopher Sweet in the introduction to Dweck’s first book, The End: Montauk, NY.
