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.

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.

GALLERY HOURS:
WEDNESDAY TO SUNDAY, 12-5 PM from August 9-September 6
THURSDAY TO SUNDAY, 12-5 PM from September 10-October 27

NEW: Third Thursdays! On the third Thursday of every month from May through September, galleries will stay open until 7:30 PM, and will include live music in the garden and exhibition-related programs to follow.

MUSEUM ADMISSION:
$12 / $10 for Seniors, 65+
Free for Members, Children, and Students

Michael Butler is the Top Honors recipient of the 85th Artist Members Exhibition, selected by Storm Ascher, independent curator, writer, and founder of Superposition Gallery and the Hamptons Black Arts Council.

A self-taught artist with a strong interest in art and history, Butler has exhibited widely over the past three decades. His small-scale narrative paintings draw on mythology, religion, dreams, and storytelling to illuminate overlooked histories—particularly those of enslaved and Indigenous communities on the East End. Rooted in the belief that the past remains a living part of the present, Butler’s work gives visual form to the lives and events often left undocumented. Descended from a Sag Harbor family whose presence dates to the 1920s, Butler has made the village his full-time home since 1988.

Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Butler describes his practice as narrative or “intuitive” painting. Through a sense of wonder, he constructs imagined realities that merge historical fact and creative vision—echoing a poetic, dreamlike spirit while asserting a distinctly contemporary voice. Butler’s practice reimagines collective memory as an active, evolving narrative, transforming fragments of history into visual allegories that connect personal lineage with broader cultural identity.

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.

GALLERY HOURS:
THURSDAY TO SUNDAY, 12-5 PM

MUSEUM ADMISSION:
$12 / $10 for Seniors, 65+
Free for Members, Children, Students, and Active Military & Veterans

Artist registration opens August 28. Details to come! 

Please note, you must be a member to participate in this exhibition. Please CLICK HERE to RENEW or JOIN. Unsure of your membership status? Reach out to info@guildhall.org. 

The Artist Members Exhibition began in 1938, and Guild Hall continues this long-standing democratic tradition by hosting the oldest non-juried museum exhibition on Long Island. This lively presentation features more than three hundred works and showcases a variety of mediums. As in the traditional salon exhibition, works by established artists are shown alongside those of emerging talents and first-time exhibitors, offering a sampling of artistic practices within our community. This initiative provides an opportunity for audiences to support and celebrate the artists who live and work in our immediate region and for artists to sell their works. In turn, artists show their commitment to and support of Guild Hall. Early participants included James Brooks, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Alfonso Ossorio, Charlotte Park, Jackson Pollock, and many more.

Guild Hall invites nationally and internationally recognized art professionals to select the Top Honors Award and Honorable Mentions. This year’s juror is Marcela Guerrero, DeMartini Family Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. 

The recipient of the Top Honors Award is given a future solo exhibition at Guild Hall.

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.

GALLERY HOURS:
THURSDAY TO SUNDAY, 12-5 PM

MUSEUM ADMISSION:
$12 / $10 for Seniors, 65+
Free for Members, Children, Students, and Active Military & Veterans