Finding Qi Closing Ceremony

This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP here for updates on this and other exhibition-related events.

Join us with artists & energy healers Stephanie Visek and Molly Rasanen for an immersive sound experience concluding our gallery exhibition.

About the Exhibition:

Finding Qi (pronounced chee) showcases Oxnam’s sculpture, paintings, and photography, inspired by Chinese scholar stones and cultural concepts. “In Chinese tradition, the term Qi has many meanings, but for me, it means an invisible but palpable source of creative energy, both artistically and psychologically,” Oxnam once explained.

As an artist, in the later decades of his life, Oxnam took inspiration from the thousand-year tradition of transforming ancient, weathered stones into Chinese Scholar’s rocks, creating a contemporary take on the roots and tree trunks found on North Fork beaches. He emphasized the infinite variety of these sea-tossed shapes with sandpaper and milk paint, reshuffling place and time. He aimed to release what he called their “inner dynamism,” an approach he took from the Chinese concept of Qi. His photographs are close-up macro lens meditations on the glacial rocks at Rocky Point, and his paintings are modernized versions of Chinese splash ink paintings, but with added acrylic paints on Chinese rice paper. The exhibition is complemented with programming, including two panel discussions regarding Chinese art and dissociative brain disorders, respectively, as they relate to Oxnam’s work.

“No matter the medium, no matter how various the results, what Robert Oxnam did with his art was to merge cultures and experiences into the creation of something that is both rooted and new,” notes Amei Wallach. Oxnam died at his Greenport home in April, 2024. Finding Qi honors his legacy.

Join Amei, Vishakha, and members of our creative community for the Opening Reception held at the The Andy Tarshis Fine Art Gallery [133 E. Main St., Riverhead] and the 11 West Gallery [11 W. Main St., Riverhead] to celebrate Robert's work and influence. Light refreshments are served.

Please note, photos and/or video may be taken during this event and used for marketing purposes. Please reach out to [email protected] if you require any accommodations.

Exhibition is on view Thursdays-Sundays, April 5th - May 10th and will include other special gallery events.

More information

Host or Publisher East End Arts Galleries