East End Beacon, Aug 1, 2026
East End Arts in Riverhead is fully embracing its current detour as its campus on East Main Street is revitalized along with the Town Square project.
And the arts organization’s recent geographical details dovetail nicely with its seventh annual Detour exhibition, designed to highlight established artists, many of whom have work in the collections of major museums, who have a connection to the East End.
Detour VII, on view through Aug. 22, is also inaugurating a new gallery space at 48 West Main Street, across the street from East End Arts 11 West Gallery on West Main Street. It includes two very different shows curated by the husband and wife team of Kevin Teare & Mary Boochever.
Mr. Teare’s show, “Open for the Stones,” is chock full of works highlighting the connection between visual arts and music, drawing from his extensive network of friends and colleagues in both industries. Ms. Boochever’s show, “The Value of Nothing,” is a spartan meditation on everyday objects, repurposed as art.
“I wanted a rambunctious show. It starts out formal and abstract and minimal, but by the time you get to the back it’s a little louder — there are monsters,” said Mr. Teare as he and East End Arts Executive Director Wendy Weiss gave The Beacon a tour of the space in mid-July.
It’s the third edition of “Open for the Stones,” which began as a 2011 five-person show in a small Chelsea gallery by artists with connections to the music industry, before expanding to about 30 artists in a 2012 show at Harper’s Books in East Hampton. He was thrilled when East End Arts Head of Music Programming Chris Jones asked him to bring the show to East End Arts.
“For me, this is a busman’s holiday. I’ve played bass since I was 14 and I love the intersection of words and music,” said Mr. Teare. “It’s about the nature of creativity. Every career in this country is commercially oriented. If you have one good idea and you want to do that until you die, but this is more. I play the drums. I put out records and I show my paintings.”
This show includes nearly 80 works by more than 50 artists who share that ethos, some of whom you may know (Stuart Sutcliffe, Kim Gordon, Rosanne Cash & Dan Rizzie) and many of whom you’d love to get to know, all of whom share inspiration in the cross-pollination of music and visual art. Much of the work is tactile and visceral, drawing from a dream space that seems to have an inherent soundtrack.
“If you grew up when I did, in the 1960s, even film took a back seat to music,” said Mr. Teare. “I grew up watching John Wayne movies, but ever since The Beatles I wasn’t interested. I didn’t care about Marlon Brando until the 1970s. Music owned that decade.”
The exhibit even includes a merch section, where visitors can pick up t-shirts and posters inspired by the rock ‘n roll theme, and a detailed catalogue filled with anecdotes about how music has influenced the works of art..
East End Arts is collaborating on Sunday, Aug. 9 with Sunday Records on an afternoon event. From Noon to 5 p.m., the record shop at 125 Roanoke Avenue will be spinning a curated vinyl playlist of artists in the show, which will also be streamed in the gallery, where records from both Sunday Records and East End Arts’ collections will be for sale.
From 2:30 to 5 p.m., East End Arts Head of Printmaking Mich Miller will be live screenprinting an exclusive custom design at the gallery. Bring your own t-shirt and have it printed for free, or purchase one from the gallery.
The new space is a former sneaker store that has been reenvisioned by architects and former gallerists Glynis Berry and Hideaki Ariizumi of studio a/b, with interior display walls designed to highlight large works and a space at the rear of the gallery designed for projections and video installations. Ms. Weiss said Southold-based artist Ted Thirlby, whose work in plywood draws from his years as a carpenter, was also instrumental in transforming the space into a gallery.
East End Arts has a three-year lease on the space, which it has named the Andy Tarshis Fine Art Gallery, in honor of a longtime benefactor of the arts organization.
Across the street, “The Value of Nothing” takes its inspiration from Oscar Wilde’s quote, “Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
“She wanted to show how unexpectedly beautiful everyday things can be in art,” said Ms. Weiss. ““There are just seven artists, and it’s a nice juxtaposition to the other show, which is very busy and noisy and full. This is something that’s very new and quiet and calm, and you can see the detail and structure at the core of everyday ideas.”
“From the nothingnesss (Sunyata) of Buddhism to Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades” to the folktale “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the works in this exhibition approach the objects in ways that question a preconceived outcome,” says Ms. Boochever in her introduction to the show. “Extrinsic and intrinsic value meet the essence of the object, forming the underpinnings of the art on display.”
Both exhibitions are on view through Aug. 22. Gallery hours are Thursdays through Saturdays from Noon to 5 p.m. and Sundays from Noon to 4 p.m., or by appointment. For details, call 631.727.0900.— BHY
Pictured Above: “Open for the Stones Vol. 3” Curator Kevin Teare and his “Stray Cat Blues” with East End Arts Executive Director Wendy Weiss.