Silver Sands Motel (1400 Silvermere Road, Greenport) is bringing art to their shoreline for the first time ever — and the artist on display is not just any creative, but Edward O’Hara, the father of the brand’s executive chef Finn O’Hara.
“This is a big moment for me and for my relationship with my sons,” says Edward. “It’s kind of like coming home.”
Opening on April 25 and closing on May 24 with a reception on each day from 1 to 4 p.m., Edward’s work titled Edges: Works on Canvas and Paper, on display in The Boathouse, will speak to his connection with nature and intrinsic drive to create, all while celebrating his roots on Long Island.
The show is full of works made using reeds from the North Fork’s shores to press ink and paint onto paper and canvases.
“I didn’t want something that didn’t fit environmentally and emotionally with the particular location,” says Edward. “I wanted it to be in rhythm to the location.”
This wasn’t his first go at using natural material to create. Now, a Highland, Hudson Valley resident, Edward lives on a 60-acre farm where he discovered the practice of using grasses as an applicator.
Soon after the idea for an exhibit by Edward was brought up, the details began falling into place.
Created using reeds from the shoreline, Edward O’Hara is pursuing his artistic dreams and is showing work in his fourth solo show. (Photo credit: Edward O’Hara)
“The whole notion of edges was natural because [the reeds] grow on the edges, humans live on the edges, the Boathouse is on the edge of the sea,” says Edward. “I think it’s also metaphoric for the human condition. We’re always on the edge, we’re fighting to be tough, we’ve got to be strong, we’ve got to stand up to what life throws at us, just like the reeds — they stand up to the wind and the snow and the ice and the rain and the flood tides and they’re still there.”
The locational celebration is right in line with Silver Sand’s overarching mission of honoring where they stand. Creating Nookies as a diner from the space’s initial days, followed by The Boathouse, fulfills the former owner’s dreams for the property as a bar and restaurant.
“We have always honored place before everything,” says Finn.
Edward’s curiosity around the open air was at the root of his son’s upbringing.
“I grew up on the North Shore of Long Island raised by my dad and value these things more than anything — nature, the ocean and this place,” says Finn. “And I’ve spent the last couple years building restaurants and using my form of art to showcase what I love: the ocean and the things that my dad taught me growing up — fishing, honoring nature. So, now we find ourselves colliding in a beautiful way.”
Edward, who typically creates abstract art, studied art at Queens College. Now semi-retired from a career in commercial art, graphic design and branding, he has time to devote to his personal pursuits; this will be his fourth solo show.
“Who gets to do this with their sons?” says Edward, beaming with pride. “To come home to Long Island and the fish and the sea and boating and the beach and then to produce art and have a show, I mean, I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
View Edwards work at The Boathouse, open Thursday, Friday and Monday from 4 p.m. on and Saturday and Sunday from noon on.
