Island Arts: Margaret Garrett paintings on exhibit in Sag Harbor

Shelter Island artist Margaret Garrett has three new paintings currently on view at Sara Nightingale Gallery in Sag Harbor.

The paintings are part of a group exhibition titled “Soft Spoken,” and also on view is work by Bill Armstrong, Roisin Bateman, Anna Church,  Theresa Hackett, Daina Mattis and Steve Miller.

Ms. Garrett’s richly colored abstract paintings are strongly influenced by her early training in dance. Born in North Carolina and raised in Pennsylvania, she grew up training to be a dancer. At 16, she left home to join the Pennsylvania Ballet and later danced with the Cleveland Ballet as a soloist. In her early 20s, she discovered painting, finding something spiritually akin to dance in the movement of line and color.

“When I begin working on a new piece, I see the paper or canvas as an empty stage and the line as movement,” says Ms. Garrett on her website. “Texture, form, the way that colors interact, all are different manifestations of motion, rhythm, and energy.”

Ms. Garrett’s work has been exhibited across the United States. Locally, museum collections include the Parrish Art Museum and Guild Hall Museum. Her work is also held in numerous private and corporate collections in the United States and Europe.

“Soft Spoken” runs through August 12 at Sara Nightingale Gallery, 26 Main Street, Sag Harbor. For more information call (631) 793-2256.