Mary Heilmann: Water Way is the artist’s first large-scale solo presentation at an institution on the East End of Long Island, where she has been an integral part of the region’s creative community for decades. Heilmann grew up along the California coast, in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles. She became a competitive diver as a young teenager, frequently engaged in body surfing, and later became involved in the beatnik and surfing cultures, all of which have had a strong influence on her work. Heilmann moved to New York City in 1968, where she still resides, and has a home and studio Bridgehampton.
Throughout her life, Heilmann has consistently chosen and prioritized living close to water, which has had a profound impact on her artistic practice. She remembers making a watercolor of the ocean when she was about sixteen years old. This proximity to the ocean has influenced the way she considers light when she is conceiving a painting. For example, at sunset and moonrise she looks at the sand, the sky, and the sea for inspiration for her bold color palette. She characterizes her work as autobiographical, as she translates her observations into abstractions and often gives her works titles that offer viewers hints about her ideas. Whether reflected in her imagery or in the titles she gives her works, water has long been a recurring theme throughout her practice. She often translates waves into geometric, hard-edge patterns and likens this to the way a diver must conceptualize the physical geometry of the body when planning a dive.
Guild Hall is pleased to present an exhibition that Heilmann has had a strong desire to stage—one that brings together more than 40 works from a focused area of her output. The exhibition includes works on paper, ceramics, and paintings from the 1980s to the present.
This exhibition is organized by Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts, with Philippa Content, museum manager and registrar, and Claire Hunter, museum coordinator and curatorial associate.
