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Escape from New York
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Grant Haffner was born in California but raised in East Hampton, in the section known as Springs where Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, among others, settled in the heyday of Abstract Expressionism, and where artists continue to flock to this day. The country roads, flat landscape, and bodies of water that have surrounded Grant most of his life on the East End of Long Island have become his personal subject matter represented in bold, often neon colours that belie the tranquility of the rural scenery, emphasising the presence of utility poles and power lines along the roadways, and skewed perspectives that impose movement and depth in his compositions.  All of this he initially captures with a Polaroid picture, stopping by the roadside in his truck when a scene strikes him; based on a still photo, each painting is then developed and executed in the studio through the filter of the artist's memory of his travels through that landscape.

 Grant sees every passing mile of country road as a potential painting, often pulling his 1986 Ford F150 onto the shoulder to record the more striking scenes with a Polaroid picture. Via Photographs espesially Polaroid snapshots, he is able to carefully study the angles and planar landscapes, revealing intersections of sky and the open road.  His compositions are rendered with a bold and sometimes solarized color palette, which is cleverly balanced to depict the speed and rhythm of the rural roadways. The slightly exaggerated poles and power-lines are primary to these compositions as they are utilized to exaggerate the depth of field and perspective and the artist's absorption in the fleeting landscape of the East End of Long Island. Haffner is committed to exploring these horizons, which appear to extend as far as the eye can see, with no end or beginning.


 

Grant Haffneris an SVA dropout. At the age of 29, he had his first solo exhibition at Dorsch Gallery, Miami, Florida in 2008. His work is in the Linklaters corporate collection and several prestigious private collections.

 

 

 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2009    "Come To Your Senses", Great Neck Arts Center, NY

                   "The Hamptons and Beyond: An Artistic Journey", Great Neck Municipal Building, NY
                   "Belafonte", The Gallery, 125 Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY

                   "Expedition Exodus",  Greenport Art and Design, Greenport, NY

                   "Mood Swings", Solar, East Hampton, NY 

                   "New Works",  Visions West Galleries, Denver, Colorado 

                   "2 Legit 2 Quit", Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY

                   "Fantastical Interactical", Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY

                    Guild Hall 71th Annual Member Exhibit, Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY 

                                                                                               - received Honorable mention

2008           Areas of Expertise, Visions West Galleries, Livingston, Montana

                  Waiting, Dorsch Gallery, Wynwood Arts District, Miami Beach, FL

                  Squint, Deshuk Rivers Studio, Bridgehampton, NY

                  Pool Art Fair, Hotel Chelsea, NYC 

                  Arts 4 Bonac Tonic (A4BT), Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY

                  Guild Hall 70th Annual Member Exhibit, Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY

 

2007     Scope Miami Art Fair, Roberto Clemente Park, Miami Beach, FL

                  Scope Hamptons Art Fair, Wainscot, NY

                  Time & Place, Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY

                  Bonac Tonic Present's three, Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY

                  The Big Show, Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY

                  Guild Hall 69th Annual Member Exhibit, Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY

 

2006           Scope Miami Art Fair, Roberto Clemente Park, Miami Beach, FL

                  Summer Show, Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY

                  Bonac Tonic Present's two, Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY

                  Scope Hamptons Art Fair, Wainscot, NY

                  The Big Show, Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY

 

2005            Bonac Tonic, Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton, NY

                  Young Landscapes, Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY

       

AWARDS

 

 

2008    Winner of the Catherine and Theo Hios award for best landscape,

                   Guild Hall 70th Annual Members Exhibit, East Hampton, NY

 

2007     Winner of the Catherine and Theo Hios award for best landscape,

                    Guild Hall 69th Annual Members Exhibit, East Hampton, NY

                 

sunset.on.route27.jpg
winner of the Catherine and Theo Hios award 2008

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