A Whale of an Art Show Opens at the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum | The Sag Harbor Express

There was meaning to Susan Lazarus-Reimen’s method when she added the word “Anchor” as the precursor to “A Whale of a Show.”

The new title would open the art show’s theme to interpretation, the curator explained, inviting new ideas into the annual exhibition at the Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum, while reflecting on the venue as a true anchor for the community.

For the most part, it worked — for nearly every artist except her husband, abstract painter and fellow curator Dan Rizzie, who just can’t help but stick to the old tradition.

“I’ve been in it for six years or so, and every year I’ve done a whale, just because I think it’s a great shape and it’s something I would ordinarily never do,” he said. “This year, I cut a whale out of a large piece of wood — a large board about 2 inches thick — and then I worked on it with sculptural tools and carved out the edges.

“Right Whale” by Bob Weinstein, 2018.

“I’m usually a flat painter, so I’m forcing myself to work in three dimensions, and I kind of look forward to it,” he added. “I really enjoy making these things that I would, ordinarily, never make.”

The same may be said of writer Joe Pintauro’s abstract “Fare Well, Fair Whale,” painter Eric Fischl’s portrait “Spaghetti Trump” and author Arlene Alda’s photograph “Pic/Toon,” the curators mused. They did not give the 18 participating artists — including themselves — any guidelines or restrictions, other than size, and even that was flexible.