The Constant Student: Tripoli Patterson

[00:00:00] All right. So Triple E Patterson is a gallery owner, curator, ex-pro surfer, and East End Local. Born in Sag Harbor Trip had a rich youth full of travel and exposure to surf culture and art that took him from New Zealand to the North Shore of Oahu and to Bali. But ultimately, he calls the east end of Long Island is home.

[00:00:21] Tripoli navigates many distinct and separate worlds that often converge and cross pollinate on the east end of Long Island. Rubbing elbows with a variety of subcultures may include some of the biggest art dealers in the world, world-class, contemporary artists, fashion designers, local business owners, museum directors, and the personalities of the local surf community.

[00:00:44] Somehow Tripp is able to navigate the fray like a local navigating summer traffic in the Hamptons. It is our pleasure to have Tripoli Patterson on 12 season surf radio, the Art and Design series with Chris and Chris. So welcome trip. [00:01:00] Delighted, delighted to be here. Thank you so much for that, um, introduction.

[00:01:03] I, I, I wanna like keep, I wanna get the recording of that for my, my personal bio. There you go. I'll send it to you, man. No, great, great to be on here. Great to see you guys. And, um, yeah, thanks for, thanks for inviting me. It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure. Yeah. So, um, we, we, we, Chris and I have conferred and we're, we're so interested in, in your, um, you know, your life as a, as a, as a curator and, um, a local on the east end, but someone who's like, well traveled and, um, has a really great aesthetic acumen and you're, you're dialed in with, um, with artists and, uh, you know, um, all different types of creatives and, and of course a local surf community, which is really important.

[00:01:50] So, I mean, let's start by talking about like, what, what, what show do you have up right now? And, um, you also talked about your, [00:02:00] um, your residency that you've got going on. So there's like two really interesting things we could start with. Yeah. I mean, and it's, um, yeah, it's a constant kind of navigation of balancing everything, right?

[00:02:12] And, uh, the gallery's sort of the same thing and kind of, it's, it's interesting to see how the art world continues to merge with the surf world and just how like, you know, international worlds start colliding. And, and the residency is something that, you know, it's a, an element that I want to bring to the gallery.

[00:02:31] Cause I want the gallery to be, I, you know, I like the idea of swerving to away from like a store and more to something that's, you know, that's connected to a culture and that's connected to generations and connected to our, to our living and, you know, us being here on this earth during this, you know, during this day and age.

[00:02:51] And, um, you know, at, with, with this new space in Wayne Scott, It's a warehouse, so it kind [00:03:00] of, you know, I kind of graduated from having a gallery on Job's Lane, more of a storefront for 10 years Right. To this new sort of, not on Main Street, sort of a destination location. And it's, you know, you kind of have to re reimagine it all the time and kind of take things that I learned from Job's Lane and, but also keep it, keep it fresh and make, make this space something special.

[00:03:23] So I, you know, I, I, I can't really do that alone. So it's always by, you know, all the great artists that are, you know, excited to, to, you know, join the gallery and work on the platform and yeah. Yeah, we, we all kind of work and work on it together. What you just said was pretty cool in earnest that you're saying, you're just trying to figure out, you know, we're all on this planet right now together, and you want to figure out what's kind of like happening in hip now, like, you know, or not hip, just what's, what's interesting Yeah.

[00:03:52] Or important or pertinent. And, um, I remember I used to work with this guy named Glen O'Brien and he introduced a lot of cool [00:04:00] artists to the world, and he always said, um, I'm not interested in like, kind of like knowing like the history he knew, but he was like, I'm very much interested in knowing who's important right now in my own lifetime and like, you know, who, who's making great art right now.

[00:04:14] Yeah. I thought that was kind of cool. And that you seems like you're kind of like wanting to do that similar thing. You're just very interested in like, you know, what, what's going on right now that's beautiful and amazing and needs to be put out into the world. Right. Yeah, totally. And being like, and being sensitive to the f to the fact of, you know, I don't know, there's so many.

[00:04:37] There's so much history and there's so many, you know, artists and there's so many artists that are on the map and artists that have this big following. And I, for me, it's really about taking account into the people that are drawn to me in my lifetime. Whether it's, you know, someone that's the brother-in-law [00:05:00] of my friend that I grew up with in Bali, like Lath McGregor, who's coming over here.

[00:05:04] He's an Australian artist, he's gonna be in the next show. Or, you know, someone like Lauren West who's doing the residency that, that I met at the New York Academy. And then I met at, you know, with John Alexander, who's a great artist out in Amagansett. And, you know, it's like the, the reasons how I come into, into interacting with people or crossing paths with artists is really, you know, I, I think that's a really special thing and that kind of separates why.

[00:05:33] I'm working with certain people, you know, and it's, it's, it's been that way since the first exhibition I did when I was 20 and I met Andre Mat McGuire on the Long Island Railroad heading, he was heading out to Montauk. I, I think I was 19 at the time. And, you know, we, he walked past us. I was with some of the homies from, from here.

[00:05:54] We were probably doing like a skate city mish or something like that. And he kind of walked past us and was like, who are you? Like, [00:06:00] who are you guys? And you know, he's this like, extravagant looking, you know, gentleman that was born in, um, new Orleans and you know, had like a leather jack and then some like cowboy boots and some like suave, like turtle, like, uh, collar shirt.

[00:06:16] And he was on his way to the Warhol estate to see his friend, uh, Susie Lopez and Renny and Renny Lopez. And. I was like, oh shit, I surf at the Warhol. Say like, yeah, right. First I was like, who are you first? You know? Yeah. Don't worry about us. Who, like, you're, you're the character we're locals that are going back home.

[00:06:35] Like where you, I was walking around like bunker looking. Yeah. Yeah. And then he, you know, he was friends with Danny Fuller, who I knew from the North Shore. And like all of a sudden that was the connection. And you know, that was before I did my first art show, so that might've even dictated me wanting to do the first art show coming.

[00:06:53] You know? So all of this, all of these things in life are kind of out of our hands. And, you know, I think they're, I think that's the [00:07:00] real, the real guidance there, you know? You know, I think one of the things that, that I'm interested in, in your, your kind of like studio, I mean your gallery practice is that, um, Like you navigate some real big, heavy hitters, um, in the art world, but you also have this amazing humility and grace to stay grounded to your roots in on the East end.

[00:07:22] And we, I mean, we're all old enough to know that like, you know, the East end of Long Island was not as populated, popular, um, as it wasn't a hotspot. It wasn't a hotspot 30 years ago, 40 years ago, it was a quiet place, right? And now it's blown up into something different. So I'm, I'm really interested in how you kind of stay humble and graceful in a location that is now hyper populated with some really heavy hitters in entertainment, in fine art.

[00:07:58] And, um, [00:08:00] yeah, I, I, I mean, how do you, how do you navigate that? Yeah, I mean, it's, it's interesting. There's a, you know, something that comes to mind is like a, a responsibility of, of like defending, you know, defending this, this thing that, that was here when I was born. You know, my mom, sure. My mom who, who's in this painting behind me that my little sister painted of her, it's like a self-portrait.

[00:08:27] You know, she had home births out here in the eighties, you know, right. Four home births and was doing like, the, was doing these like organic, um, co-op trucking things with a group of friends that, like, they owned the provisions and like, they were all kind of advanced and kind of doing the thing that people are doing now, but they were doing it, you know, when this place w like you're saying, 30 years ago or 38 years ago.

[00:08:53] But there was here it was quiet. Yeah. It wasn't popular. But that magic [00:09:00] was here and it was here. Yeah. 50 years ago. And even further to like, you know, you know, there, there's such a rich legacy out here of, of artists and writers and creatives, fors, and communities. And it's like Long Island gets a really bad rap sometimes.

[00:09:16] Yeah. And I mean, out here too, it's like that sh all of that shit can be missed cuz people can come out here and as, as if you're not keeping it up to date, the, the history out here kind of gets encapsulated to like one moment that happened and it skips over a whole generation of people like my mom or like, you know, Chris Snow, like Dash snow's dad, that was like a musician that was out here and that was kind of wild.

[00:09:40] Or like, it skips over this whole generation. So it's like now I feel, I feel the need and I feel the time and I feel like. I'm being put in this position for a reason to like re kind encapsulate right now. Yeah. And no dude, like the artists that are like Connie Fox, that's [00:10:00] 98 living in, um, you know, by Sammy's Beach on the north in the, in the northwest woods.

[00:10:05] Or, you know, my younger brother, young Jake, born in Sag Harbor and got the first, he was the first artist to be given a solo show at Guild Hall that was born in the Hamptons. And it's like, there's certain elements like that that are happening that I'm kind of taking note of and realizing, you know, I'm, we're we're gonna encapsulate something very kind of special out here in, in this mm-hmm.

[00:10:28] In this time mm-hmm. Trip, I think, I think I completely agree with you and you know, I've, I've like lived in a bunch of different places, you know, over my lifetime. Um, but you know, I still, I'm, I'm proud of the fact that I'm from Long Island. And that's where I grew up. That's where I grew me, grew up that, that's where I first like, put my feet in the ocean.

[00:10:47] That's when I first body surfed and surfed me too life and lifeguarded and, you know, my, my heart and soul is from there, right. And my grandfather was from there. And, and you know, um, and you know, [00:11:00] in graduate school, like I, I studied the abstract expressionists, like in depth and then learned so much about like, the enclaves, like in the Hamptons.

[00:11:09] And you know, of course, you know the, the Pollock house and like all of, and you know, I feel like, I feel like what you're doing is like, you are, you are like in a very like humble and graceful way. You're carrying the torch. Of the, the legacy of like the art world. But then, you know, I, I was reading online, you know, about like you mentioned like the Shinnecock Indians and it's just like, you know, if, if you don't understand and acknowledge that like the, the East end of Long Island has this very rich, native American history that needs to be preserved and understood, and it's not about McMansions and, and superstars, you know, like you gotta understand, you gotta understand the land that you're standing on.

[00:11:51] Right. You have to understand what, except no, totally. Thank you so much for saying that. It's so, yeah, it's like enlightening hearing [00:12:00] it because it's so important and it's, it can be so easily looked over, like, you know, someone that comes to mind is Jeremy Dennis, who's this younger k younger kid from the, you know, Shinnecock reservation who.

[00:12:12] He, he actually worked at the ga, worked at the gallery in South Hampton for a couple years, and I don't, I think it was like a, a year into him working to me, I realized that I, I was, I went to school with his sister. He never told me that I went to school with his sister, Kelly. Dennis. We both went to school at the raw school and it was like, and it was so cool to see him kind of, you know, being intrigued and now to see what he's doing.

[00:12:33] Like, you know, I'm old enough to say this 10 years later, I mean, maybe even more. He's like really, you know, taking the torch as well and created MAs house, this, you know, institution on the reservation that's kind of focusing on, you know, more, you know, focusing on indigenous artists. And it's like, mm-hmm.

[00:12:53] Yes, it's very inspiring. And again, it makes me feel like that this is happening right now. It's, [00:13:00] it's putting an emphasis on this time and, you know, there is a lot of like, that the McMansion stuff is gonna exist, so we have to not, you know, How many friends we we're all friends with. People like that have this local thing of like, ra grouchy, duh.

[00:13:14] You know, I don't want to have that grouch kinda. I hear you. It's hard not, not to be grouchy. I know. It is. It's hard not, it's, it's hard not to be grouchy and, you know, and, and that, you know, that's, that can, that we're laughing because we're, we're old farts, you know, but it's like, you know, it's hard not to be grouchy because like that grouchiness can extend itself into the, um, into the water.

[00:13:40] Right. It's territorial. It's territorial in the water, and you see all of these people coming out this summer and you hope that they visit the museums and they visit the wineries and they visit and they, you know, they, um, take care of the local business owners and et cetera, but at the same time, you don't want it to be infected so much that, like, [00:14:00] that, that culture disappears.

[00:14:01] So I'm, I'm, I'm so interested in how I keep going back to this, like how you navigate like the grassroots, the history, the culture, and then the contemporary nature of what you're trying to do. Because quite honestly, there are not, I mean, there are a bunch of galleries out there that are doing really interesting things and the museums of course, but like, how do you lead the way?

[00:14:27] Like how do you, how do you do it? I have no idea. I mean, yeah, it's, it's a constant, you, you show up every day with, with an idea, but also trying to be open-minded and yeah. I think for me it's like, uh, yeah, I really don't know. I think I'm still working it out all the time. Um, yeah. But it's, I feel very lucky that I am, I, I do get to be friends with, you know, a lot of people like, some of, like some of the big gallery people.[00:15:00]

[00:15:00] And I do get to, and I think there's also time because I've been, you know, doing shows out here for 18 years now and it's like, yeah, I, I think time has a lot to sort of, you know, helping you understand, but I think you also have to know what you wanna do before you can do it. So I have to re. Imagine what it, what it is exactly I wanna do before I can do it.

[00:15:26] And, you know, what I wanna do is have galleries all over the world. So it's like I have to, you know, I started, I started that kind of venture this winter, and it's, I know, you know, it's, yeah, it's also challenging because I don't have like partners and I don't have huge, you know, backing things behind me.

[00:15:41] But I think that in, in a sense also helps me navigate it and helps me stay grounded because the foundation that I, I have, I start realizing that my, you know, my net worth is my network. And it's like I have so many people [00:16:00] behind me. Not just high up people I have like, you know, like, um, My pool, the guy that's doing my pool that I met like a couple summers ago outside, I like wave him down.

[00:16:10] He ends up being like a great guy, and me and him are close and he's like, ca came in early and made sure my pool was open. And it is like, don't worry about the men, you know, and like help him get jobs. And like, you know, from, from that guy to like someone like, you know, mark Lecher, who I'm good friends with and I've been able to do exhibitions with and you know, he's been able to kind of, you know, give me a perspective and, you know, teach me a lot.

[00:16:35] Like that's how I, that's how I learn. And, um, yeah, I think, I think by being a good student, you, you know, by or by trying to be a student and by, you know, looking up to people like we did surfing around the world since you, since I was nine years old. You know, you have these people that are higher than you or that are better than you and you know, you learn how to be a student to them and then all of a sudden they're excited to kind of show you the way and teach you [00:17:00] if you're.

[00:17:01] If you will, if you're, if you're willing, yeah. No, if you're willing to be humble. That's a great metaphor. Yeah. That's a great, that's a great metaphor. I mean, like all of us have surfed, you know, in Hawaii and like if you surf in Hawaii, you, you, you need to put in the time and you need to be humble and you need to, you don't choice.

[00:17:19] No. And you know what it's decided for you. Yeah. Well you, you also need to, I mean, I, you have to network, right? Yeah. And you, you, yeah. You gotta pat out somebody. You have to. But I have to say guys, yeah, we, we, we got, we're hitting the ground running pretty quick. Very, very much. Well, we could go on. This is, we have to look at the timer cause we'll be going on for like a couple hours.

[00:17:44] This is a long island tangent. This is very good. Um, and I'm very much enjoying it, but Totally. I want to backpedal a little bit here and if we could talk a little bit about more, um, So you're [00:18:00] on the train, you meet this artist, you want to start a show you're in, interested in the art world at that point in some capacity that you even think about doing something like that.

[00:18:09] So where did that come from? Was that from you growing up and meeting these people? Was I, I mean, you know mean my dad was an art, my dad was an art dealer. Yeah. He was, um, you know, he was like a, a, like a Indiana Jones character from like, You know, from the Caribbean side of Costa Rica that would wear like crazy $5,000 suits and was like fascinated with the contemporary art world, the pre-Columbian art world fascinated with finding relics and fascinated with history and fascinated, you know, talking about the Native Americans, fascinated with these artists that were from that time, you know, from like, cool.

[00:18:48] And, you know, he met my, he did a big trade with William De Kooning. De Kooning had mm-hmm. Until de Kooning passed away. The only other art he had in his studio was this collection that he, that he [00:19:00] got from my father that they traded for paintings or, you know, what they did. And it was like, yeah, to think of, to think of my dad in that sense in the seventies and in the studio 54 days.

[00:19:11] And, you know, coming from, coming from nothing. Coming from, so your, your father, just so the listeners who don't, um, No. Exactly. He, he, what was his name? And he was a, you said he was pre-Columbian art dealer for the most part. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was a pre-Columbian art dealer. Um, but you know, like I was saying, he was friends with Robert Smith who was a, a dealer or Andre Emek who was a big dealer, de Kooning, you know, he hosted De Kooning in LA and he was, I, you know, I don't know, he was someone that was willing, and I'm sure he probably made the decision at a young age to make his own path and to do his own thing and to not be afraid of stepping out of line and kind of navigating his own, his own destiny and [00:20:00] creating his own narrative.

[00:20:01] Um, and I think, yeah, I think so. I think it's always kind of been in the back of my mind, you know, since I was born, I've been around these, these relics and these gems and these artists and these art people and, um, that's amazing. What a great luxury. And not, probably not even realizing it as a kid, how amazing that is.

[00:20:18] You know? That's awesome. Totally. Yeah. And Lisa de Kooning was who introduced my dad to my mom because her, Lisa de Kooning and my mom grew up together out here, and then she met my father through her dad. And she, yeah, she and, and she was my godmother, God, God bless. And, um, yes. Amazing. She's, she's the reason my, my whole, my parents met.

[00:20:41] Did your father and your mother surf? Or was it kind of No, my father can't swim. Really? Wow. That's crazy. I think still to this day, he, he like sinks. Oh my God. That's hysterical. And when I started surfing, I couldn't swim either, [00:21:00] really? You kidding? Nope. I was like, I mean, you learn quick when you're a kid, but I probably, the first, the first few sessions I was like, I fell, I just grabbed my leash and just tried to get my board as quick as possible, was like freaked about losing my board and.

[00:21:15] Yeah. You know, it took, it took me a moment to learn was that my mom was a great swimmer. Was that out in Montauk or was that Yeah, that was out, or the first time I surfed was, was Sag Maine. Mm-hmm. That was the first time I surfed, but then I remember surfing outta turtles and not really being able to swim good and being worried about my leash breaking or something.

[00:21:37] Cause it was like a far swim, you know? Yeah, yeah. That's very funny. Probably Young White would take me out. What's that? I love it. So from a young age, you're very, you're like exposed to a lot of these amazing artists. Yeah, totally. And, and being grown, being brought up out here, everyone was kind of an artist.

[00:21:59] I [00:22:00] think even if they weren't like practicing or like, you know what I mean? They were like, yeah, I don't know. I feel like I kind of grew Everyone out here in, in the eighties was kind of in that mindset or something. Yeah. Yeah, it was, it was still quiet. It was, it was still quiet, but there were, there was all a big hum happening.

[00:22:20] I can remember it. I remember it. So, so what? Yeah. But it was, yeah, I guess it was. So what, so what, what really gave you that kind of like, giant push to move forward and, um, take all of these accumulated experiences from living in different places, having a dad as a, as an art dealer and, um, want to do this?

[00:22:47] Yeah. My mom left my dad when I was four too, so it was like, I was kind of, you know, we weren't like, I, I wasn't like living with him, you know, we were all, we, my mom was like the, um, the [00:23:00] surf mom. She was kind of out of the art world and out of the art industry. So I kind of grew up right in that space. But then I, you know, I must have had this kind of, for sure, Yeah.

[00:23:12] So do you think, do you think that that is like, you know, I, I think no matter what we do, we always bring like the DNA of ourselves to what we do. Right. And, um, do you think it was your mom's influence and, and bringing you into this surf culture that kind of still, you know, manifest itself in, in how you run your gallery today?

[00:23:37] I mean, well, yeah. I think it's all kind of influenced, but I can actually tell you one of the reasons at a young age that I kind of wanted to do something else than surfing. Cuz I, you know, I was competing since I was like nine and I didn't have that many great results in the prof when I kind of went professional.

[00:23:54] But I went to Australia when I was 19 to do the wqs. Mm-hmm. Right. And I had a, an [00:24:00] event in Merryweather, an event in Newcastle. Those were the first ones. And it was like, I didn't have good sponsors. I think I had some like energy drink from like the nightclub world that was paying for. My membership. I don't even know if they paid.

[00:24:12] Like, I was really just like, and I was like, fuck it, let's try, I'm 19. Like, and I went to the first event from meeting with someone in the airport to us hitching to like this, you know, a whole, you know, I wasn't like one of the top Volcom guys, you know what I mean? So it was like really a lot of navigating and getting to the event and then getting ready for my heat, finding where I was staying, figuring out where I was staying.

[00:24:35] Then it was like my first heat. I'm not seated. So I had a 20 minute heat in like kneehigh waves in Australia after making all of this effort to like all the sacrifice to get there. Yeah. Yeah. It was insane. And then 20 minutes and like these guys up in this, in the judging things that have never met me, they don't know any, they don't give a fuck about me or like, I haven't got to be like, Hey, how or something, you know?[00:25:00]

[00:25:00] And, um, So I lost my first he, and then I was like, okay, I'll go to the next event. The next event. It was like the same thing and the seat arounds, they, you know, you get put out whenever. And I was like, I'm never putting myself in this kind of setting again. Like, I want to be a part of the entirety of it.

[00:25:19] I don't want to be this like single thing that, like, yes or no. I want to be the person that's like being able to tell people yes and no or like, you know what I mean? And that, I think that influenced me a lot to meeting Aber and doing my first show when I was 20 the next year. Mm-hmm. You know? Right. I think it was, um, I think that was really the, the kind of pushing thing and kind of separating the two.

[00:25:44] Like, I don't wanna make surf, I don't wanna have surf resources either. I wanna have like the best art gallery in the world resources. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. And surf on. You know, like surfing isn't really about that. Anyways. Yeah, it's nice to be able to, like I, I'd [00:26:00] love to sponsor, I'd love for my gallery to sponsor myself, you know what I mean?

[00:26:04] Yeah. A triple gallery sticker on the board. It's tricky. It's really tricky. Competitive surfing. I don't know how deep he got into it or if it matters, but I always found it very odd, like how they quantify things. Yeah. And it's funny too, because recently it's a little mysterious. Yeah. It's a little mysterious.

[00:26:24] Me. It's like, like match. We had a competition for like, okay, the best painter. Well, that's what I was just about to say. It's very mysterious, but it's also kind of similar to when you start thinking about the art world in a funny way and professional. Yes. Like I just heard like Gearhard Richter is retiring and it's like, how does an artist like that retire?

[00:26:45] That's what I mean. Like how does, how does an artist retire? You know? Like all of a sudden it's like he's retiring from the gallery world and all. Yeah. It's funny because you're selling this euphoric, like when you're [00:27:00] painting, you're, you're kind of entering this euphoric space. You're like leaving this, this like this time and this like, you know, you get lost into this world the same way we get lost into the world when we're surfing or when you're in a barrel or whatever.

[00:27:15] You're not, you kind of depart, but you're mm-hmm. The most, you know, conscious and active and like, you know, sensitive than you'd probably ever, you know, it's like when you start kind of getting superhero powers in a weird way, and then how do you then start time slows down. Yeah. And it ha and then they're like, oh, get the superhero power now because everyone's watching.

[00:27:36] Or like, you know, it's, so, it's a little bit of a weird thing, but that's why I think you need like, I think the role of a important, because yeah. You know, now my role is to kind of, not translate it, but try to keep it in a space where, you know, not like the artist is like 50 50, where it's like we're doing it together and like it's, [00:28:00] yeah, I don't, again, I'm still figuring it out and I'm still trying to navigate it, but I know that, um, having the position not as an artist, but as a gallery is important.

[00:28:09] You know, I know that's a very important role and an important part of, of the art world and a part of history and a part of, you know, contextualizing things that, you know, is a, is is kind of what excites me and ki and sometimes I'm starting to find that, you know, that blackout tunnel vision world in the art world or in my gallery, where you kind of get into that space where things are just, you know, like fluidly happening.

[00:28:36] You know, I, I really, I appreciate that, like you're actually saying that like, there is a, s a a, like a, a significant separation between, um, surfing and the creative practice. Um, because most of the people that we have on, you know, they, they derive a lot of inspiration from surfing and bring it to their creative practice.

[00:28:57] Um, you know, one of [00:29:00] the things that I, that I read, um, I think maybe it was in a New York Times article that had been written about you, was, I think you were talking about how, um, the kind of like the, the, um, The elements that, um, exert them themselves on you or like the elements that exert themselves and, um, in a forceful way on you give a, give you a certain amount of like, endurance to kinda like deal with the art world or maybe the twists and the turns and the unforeseen things that might happen.

[00:29:35] Um, so, you know, it, it's kind of cool to hear that like maybe the art, you know, the art world in surfing is, are very much, um, disconnected. But like in that article I was like, wow, you know, like that's actually something that I'm connecting with because like, I feel like when I'm out in the water and I'm getting my butt handed to me getting held down in the impact zone, I'm like, this is, this builds character.

[00:29:58] You know, like this, [00:30:00] this translates into a lot of other places in my life. It's like the greatest teacher. It's the greatest teacher and I, no, I constantly am taking. Business advice from, from the ocean. Yeah. Right. It's like, cause you, you know, when, when do you know when a great wave's gonna come or when do you know?

[00:30:21] I don't, I don't know. There's so many influences and it's like, I don't really want, like this manuscript or who's, who's gonna give you a man, a manuscript of how to kind of navigate this art world because it's, or at least from my perspective, because it has to come from me because the story I'm trying to tell, or the story that I'm trying to piece together is connected to, you know, my experiences in a way, you know?

[00:30:49] Mm-hmm. So it's, um, I don't know. And I think there's also like a lot of unknowns that you have to learn to be prepared for the same way you, you know, [00:31:00] you do when you're dealing with Mother Nature or when you're dealing with the ocean, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You have to have that confidence to.

[00:31:07] Understand that you've done your due diligence and whatever's gonna come your way, you should be able to navigate it. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Hopeful. Yeah. You know, so like, it's a rough thing, but, um, yeah, and learning to be nimble and learning to like, just to pivot. Sometimes you can't fight things, you know, sometimes it's like you're getting drilled.

[00:31:27] You have to like, relax a little bit and let, let the dr let the thing pass because you know, the energy, you're, you're not fighting that energy. It's bigger than you. So you have to kind of learn, learn when to learn, when to, you know, put your emphasis into your moves, you know? Yeah. Those, those are, those are great analogies.

[00:31:47] I, people who, who, who bring this sort of energy or mindset I think of like Aaron Rose back with like the alleged gallery, like coming out of the skate scenes and things like that, and the people he [00:32:00] represented and like how. Those guys, it's kind of punk rock, but it's different where they just don't give a fuck and they're like, well, I'm gonna figure it out.

[00:32:10] It's fine. Like they kind of take a different perspective on it and it works. Yeah. And that's why you get like your, you know, Ryan McGinley's and Dash snows and Dan Collins and all these people coming out of that, you know, second generation. Um, so when I look at your gallery recently that I got over there, which I'm very thankful that you let me come in and like kind of chat.

[00:32:29] Oh no. I was like, wow, this is like an honest thing. This is like earnest, like you, you know? Mm-hmm. The fact that you have a painting behind a garage door that's amazing is rip it up. And I'm like, well that's, that's fucking great. You know, like other galleries would be like, I'm not like, they wouldn't even think to do that.

[00:32:46] I know. And I, the funnest thing is when, um, yeah, because it's, yeah. It's all there. It's like you, you, you get to a point where it's like you realize, I. [00:33:00] There's not much. You have to really, you want to be doing things that you don't have to, that you're not hiding. So I've, I've gotten to the point where it's all like, it's all out in the public and it's all out there, and it's like my attitude is out there and, you know, and at the same time, I'm constantly trying to, I want to get better.

[00:33:18] I want to be the best at what I'm doing, and I wanna learn how to deal with, you know, with, with the, with all the emotions that come with, you know, that come with it and come with people's responses, like p p people's responses to the, to the gallery. Like in the, you know, it can be a, it can totally affect you or it cannot, you know?

[00:33:38] Yep. You know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna do my very best to get out there for your opening like next month. Um, and I've never been to the gallery, although I've been, uh, very aware of it. Um, yeah. I gotta ask you like a very specific question. I am so taken by, um, the plywood walls. You know, [00:34:00] everybody's always trying to create like this perfect white box, and then all of a sudden everything starts looking the same, like a Chelsea gallery, right?

[00:34:08] Mm-hmm. I love the fact that you are, you are retaining like this, like, and I'm gonna go back to the same words I was using before this, this humble and graceful approach to just like, putting good work up on the wall. And, but so what, what about that choice? Like, why, why not she rocket? Why not paint it right?

[00:34:30] Again, I, again, I'll be, I'm gonna be honest, you know, it's like the way I, the way I navigate and the way I do things is by, You know what I'm able to do at that time, and I'm doing the, you know, the most that I can and I'm working, you know, when I'm going into a space, I'm looking at this space. I'm, I have an idea previously, but I'm not gonna bring all that stuff when I walk into a space.

[00:34:53] When I walk into a space I wanna take in, absorb what this space has. And when I walked into this [00:35:00] space, you know, it had four garage doors, a rectangle, cement floors, radiant heated cement floors that was in, that was brilliant. So I was like, this is in heaven. And it had two levels of plywood. So, you know, plywoods are four by eight, so it was at eight foot, like the plywood was this way.

[00:35:17] So it was eight foot tall plywood all around the whole, the whole space besides the garage doors on that side and above that plywood, the other, you know, I think it was like 10 feet was the inside insulation. So that's how I had rented the space and. You know, what can I, I got this space like the 20th. I did a 50 person show.

[00:35:38] The 26th, I think it was like the craziest six day turnaround ever navigating, getting all the pieces, developing this space, building it out with my friend Ashley Coral and, um, and Oliver Keer, who's, you know, a big collector and my, you know, real estate advisor and, you know, envisioning what this space was gonna look like.

[00:35:59] [00:36:00] So I just said, okay, here's what we're gonna do. We're, we're gonna pull the plywood all the way to the top because we already have half plywood if for the next, so, and when I get the budget and I have to sh and I'm, and I wanna sheet rock the space because all the galleries are sheet rocked. It's great to have plywood behind anyways, because Totally I learned, no, I learned that from my, you know, my years and the things.

[00:36:20] So it's like, we'll do the plywood, then we'll do the sheet rock. But then what, what happens, you know, you do the first show. You get feedback, it's like, holy fuck, this is sick, this is brilliant, da da. And it's like, mm-hmm. I just think it's such things don't have to get you, you know what I mean? So it's like you go in with a plan, but yeah.

[00:36:40] And that's because the identity. And then I, then I do start realizing that like there's something we can see nature in that plywood you can see. Yeah. You know, it helped Mary said that she was inspired by the plywood to make this wind sea painting that she actually used plywood. She had a plywood, uh, canvas [00:37:00] built for her.

[00:37:00] So the, the grains and the plywood, you know what I mean? All of a sudden nature is, you know, we like to, I like to be submerged in nature, you know, I think it was bald asari did some clouds on plywood or something like that were beautiful. Just like big dummy amazing. Oh, the lines. I'm telling you, I could almost do a show with just the walls.

[00:37:18] Yeah, yeah, for sure. It's, and you know, it, it just makes me happy. It just makes, it makes me happy in so many ways. It's, it's the personality of the space. It says a lot. It's a little bit less like a hospital. Yeah, right. Yeah. No, no. Well it doesn't have that, that sterile New York, Chelsea, you know, now Soho thing.

[00:37:37] But like, I think being in Wayne Scott lends itself to that cuz there's some sort of like this sort of rustic sort of fun feel to being out there. People expect windmills and, you know, fucking fly. Yeah. And I think like, you know, the first, the first few shows that I've ever done were in barns. So it's like, it kind of goes back to this space is kind of going back, [00:38:00] you know, I started at these barns cuz it was like, you know, a barn, a Susan Burnside barn on Butter Lane or you know, the si uh, the Martyr Gallery has that big barn on their property that I did a show, or the old antique and barn in Bridge Hampton.

[00:38:12] And then you kind of work your way up to get to be on Main Street and these more expensive fucking places. And then you realize, you know, this initial thing, it's, it's interesting, but, but you have to do you, like for me, I've learned that I'm not afraid to do, I, I wanna do the long, like the long walk. I don't wanna look for shortcuts.

[00:38:32] Like I'm, I'm super down for, for the 10 years on Job's Lane because I don't think I can, I can, I don't think I can appreciate the early barns that I was doing shows or appreciate the warehouse that I have now. That's almost, you know, back to that kind of unconventional space again in a way. Um, so it's, you know, it's really fun to kind of, to, to be a part of it, but not be too, to not be too, um, stiff on the wheel.

[00:38:59] You [00:39:00] know, when you think about Barnes out on the East end and old, the, not only like amazing art history that's happened in Barnes, but also like people finding, look, the people finding surfboards and rafters that are like, you know, Oh, there's a Greg Noel just hanging around. Like, we found that. Yeah, like, you know, there's so many, like if you grew up out here, you're really like, it's such a nice aspect of it actually.

[00:39:25] Yeah, yeah. Um,

[00:39:49] I was, I was just taken by his voice and his vocabulary and his descriptiveness and he was so kind and approachable and [00:40:00] he was a great listener and he was a great orator and he was so damn smart, smart, very smart man. And he, he was, Yeah. Yeah. Just a wonderful, wonderful guy. I mean, like once, uh, once we had him on his, on, uh, on our podcast, um, which quite is honestly, like, if anyone gets a chance to listen to like our, our conversation with Ashley, it is like a, a piece of art history you've gotta listen to.

[00:40:27] It's, it's, yes, for sure. Yeah. But like, you know, like after we had him on the show, like I was lucky enough to kind of like con like continue a, a friendship. When was he on the show? What year was he on the show? Gosh, like, maybe three, four years ago. Is that long? We need to do more shows cuz Yeah, it's three, three years ago.

[00:40:48] Probably. Three years ago. Maybe it was smacked outta middle of Covid, but gosh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But man, I'll tell you like, like we would, we would chat, like whether it was on Instagram or [00:41:00] email or text, like maybe like, I don't know, once a month. And like, man, even, even his emails were spectacular. Yeah, totally.

[00:41:10] You, he left you feeling good no matter what he was saying. Yeah. He's good guy. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. A really magical human and yeah, and he shredded. You see the waves on that road. He got bigger. He, he's gotten, I still to this day haven't gotten a barrel as big as he got when he was no years old. No, dude, that's crazy.

[00:41:31] That was sick. Crazy. Yeah, dude. Some, I mean, if you can track down some of the videos of him on YouTube, like, like some of the pictures. Yeah. Great. Everyone's got pictures, but like, watch some of the videos of him dropping in, in Bali. It's, he's, he, he almost surfed, like, he almost surfed the same way he, he spoke.

[00:41:50] It's a good way to put it. Right. Yeah. Very casual, but very, very good. Yeah. Kinda like, like, like he had like the same [00:42:00] way someone ta like he had an accent, but like, it, it's not like a known accent. It's like an Ashley Bickerton accent. Yeah. And he nondescript. Yeah. With an accent. I would agree. Yeah. Like I, like I would speak with him and I was like, is that in English?

[00:42:15] Yeah. He would jump into England, Hawaiian, or is that Hawaiian? You would jump in, you would jump into all of those, because those are, you know, those are all part of his language. Yeah. It's not, I, I love, I feel so blessed to have worked with him and I met him when I was 14 and when I, when I first got to Bali, you met him in Bali for the first time.

[00:42:36] Not when you explain that you first to Bali, but Yeah. And he told me the story later because I was, you know, of I was like 13 or 14 and I was at Nick Schwab's house. And you know, it's like there's a lot of expats, you know, if you're in Bali, they're not, these guys aren't bolognese, so they're like the expats.

[00:42:53] It was like a crew that was like friends with Nick's dad and, and Ashley was one of that crew. So I, you [00:43:00] know, he told me later I was, oh, he was like, who the hell is this 14 year old? Like, you know, dark-skinned kid from New York that can surf good in Bali, like, what's going on? Kind of. And like I, you know, I kind of had stuck with him.

[00:43:11] That's funny. And he told, and then I, you know, we'd see him, you know, as I years later I didn't do, so that was 14. Then I did my first show when I was 20. And I think, like, you know, I kind of started, we crossed paths a couple times, like. I want to say in Miami or somewhere, shit. Mm-hmm. And we're like, oh, Ashley, like, oh, I know you're from Bali.

[00:43:33] Like, oh, what's up? And then I went back to Bali and had a proper, and at this point, I, you know, knew who he was and, you know, I had a proper studio visit with him. And, um, that's when we planned our first show and we, we did a show together in 2017 and like, yeah, I think I probably had a studio visit in like 2016 or something.

[00:43:53] And when I did that show with him, it was, it was really kind of a big moment for the gallery. I didn't even know the reason, I knew [00:44:00] why, you know, the people that bought the pieces were my right hand collectors, the people that are mm-hmm. Not buying it because it's Ashley buying it because they love it and they support me.

[00:44:11] They're like, you know, the same person that bought a piece from like, before I even started my gallery. And, but it was from all the artists, the way the artist. Like her talk to me when I told him I was doing that show, or like I, you know, I brought him to a couple artist studios and like, I was like, wait a second, this is like the, the, the awe or the respect or the excitement that they're looking at him and interacting with him with has nothing to do with money.

[00:44:44] It has nothing to do. You know, it had something, it had some, and it really, it made me kind of start understanding it a little bit differently and like, yeah, it was, it was a big kind of graduation for the gallery and it was cool to see like, you know, one of his, one of his [00:45:00] close friends told me later it was like, that was kind of the beginning of his resurgence back to New York and back to, you know, doing shows out here.

[00:45:07] Yes. Mm-hmm. So it was like, yeah. Such a honoring thing and you know, such a blessing and yeah, I learned, I learned so much. I always think about these guys cause it reminds, reminds me like the surf world were, um, you always had those mentors in the water that you were, like, you thought you were surfing with them, but they were kind of coaching without you knowing.

[00:45:25] Yeah. And, and like, right. I've had a couple of people in the art world as I was, you know, coming up as a very young man and I was like, oh, I'm working with this guy. And I look back in retrospect being like, you know, a 40 year old man now I'm like, oh, that guy was just kind of like holding my hand without me knowing it.

[00:45:42] Yes. You know, like, no, totally. That's kinda awesome. You know? Yeah. And I think it was interesting too for them, because I'm an art dealer, so I'm like, I'm not a younger artist, but I kind of am because Yeah. You know, my character is more, I'm, I'm more like an artist than I'm like [00:46:00] a, you know, a business shoot, fucking like exec guy.

[00:46:04] Yeah. You know what I mean? So it's, but then at the same time, he knows I'm an art dealer, so I'm like, Kind of a young apprentice art dealer for an artist, but not apprentice because we're working together and I'm giving him the platform to do the show, but it's not normal. Like my position's not really normal.

[00:46:20] Generally the galleries are these rich people, or I'm like this like hungry surfer, you know, guy. Like, he's probably looking at me like, wait, he's from, he seems familiar to me when I was or something, you know, like, yeah. But he also knows that, you know, I'm an art dealer, so I wanna then I was like, that too, dude.

[00:46:41] Hold I, I was like that too. I was like, you know, like as I was establishing, establishing a friendship with him, I was just like, why are you letting me into your world? Because like, I'm not of the world that you navigate. But then I started realizing like, hey, you know, as a human being, we're connecting on these like very [00:47:00] simple and like almost primal levels, which is like the, the love of the ocean and, and the love of surfing and the things that we connect in.

[00:47:08] We connected on in, in terms of just like artistic inspiration and the passion around the things that we create. And, and it was just like, I think that's where he felt more comfortable. Yeah, I did too. I honestly, I think we, um, no, go ahead. I think I met him at his gallery. No, I, and we were talking about surfboard design more than art.

[00:47:28] And the director, there was like, are you guys talking about art at all? And we were talking about like Ryan, we were talking about like at the Yeah, we kinda are. I dunno. So we were talking about like Ryan Birch and what he was doing with like foam blocks and asymmetrical stuff and they're all like, what the fuck are you guys talking about?

[00:47:45] And I was like, well, you know, and we got into like Mackie with the flex tails and like Neil purchase with the duos and all this. And he like, we're like nerding out hard at the cowboy. Yeah. No, Ashley, so brilliant. [00:48:00] Like Chris, when you're saying like, Why are you talking to me when he navigates with such a high thing?

[00:48:05] He's so brilliant that like he'll try to get information from everywhere to then reuse that information and like, you know what I mean? He's like a yes. He was like, so, yeah. Yeah. And I, and, and I, and I think he took everyone at the, you know, he took, he's just a real person. So he took your time was as important as like, you know, Damien Hurst time or like, and that's smart.

[00:48:30] That's really smart. So I have to segue this into then, like, for example, Ashley was with a gallery at that time, and you're now exhibiting his work, and there's a couple of artists, I think that have other galleries that you exhibit. So like how do you balance the secondary market, primary market? Like how does that, like, this is like an art question I guess at this point.

[00:48:53] Like, how does that work for you? Well, I'm, I'm gonna answer the question with the question. How does [00:49:00] an artist like Ashley Bickerton. Introduced me to an art dealer that lives in Bridge Hampton, and that had a gallery in the Red Horse market and lives right next door to Vito Schnabel, who I grew up with.

[00:49:13] And I was always at that house. And David Moin lives right next door, and I meet David Moin through Ashley Bickerton, who's from b who I know from Bali. Like, that doesn't really make sense to me. It's like any, it's kind of interesting though. I was like, I was looking at the, I'm from, how are you like, wait, what?

[00:49:31] And like, yeah. And then the, the, you know, it's like the show the artist get, the artist can show where they want to show, you know, they can do it. I, I know. Yeah. So then you just, the, the, cause the, the market's changed a lot. The art world has changed a lot. There's like, it, I mean, it, it's, I I feel like only at the top end are there like exclusive contract?

[00:49:53] No. Well, I mean, galleries. Yeah. I mean, I'm not talking about that because it, the whole show went, it had, you know, Liman Moin [00:50:00] was involved. They knew it was up. Yeah. Yeah. Well not to do. It was up, they were involved. The paperwork, you have to go through the, you have to talk to them and, you know, I have to, regardless of what Ashley says, I still have to do, you know, my diligence and meeting and working out the details and like, you know, that's part of the job of the gallery.

[00:50:20] It's like to kind of deal with that. Like, it doesn't involve, like, Ashley doesn't have to worry about what our deal is, kind of like, that's our role is to kind of navigate that one. And it's, you know, it's a, yeah. A big part of it. So it's like, um, the, but, but, but again, if the, if the start happens and the artist wants it to happen, then that's the best, that's the best starting point.

[00:50:45] It's a way better starting point than just reaching out to a random gallery and, you know, asking to show one of their biggest artists. That's kudos. People wanna show with you, like, that's amazing that they're, you know, like, they're like, they, they trust you. With their [00:51:00] work out in the Hamptons and like that's, you know, that's great.

[00:51:03] Yeah. And I think it, thank you so much. And I think it really comes from the studio visits, you know? Mm-hmm. I think, and that's something that I hold very, you know, it's very clo I hold it very close to my heart and, you know, the, to have access to, to that space. So when I'm in, when I'm in that space, you know, I, yeah.

[00:51:25] It's like that's where it happens and that's where we decide, they decide if, you know, that's where we both decide what's gonna happen. So it's like, I think that's where it all starts. Right. And that's where it definitely started with honestly, like Yeah. But then even to be invited to this, like, like, he's not like, I'm gonna do a show with Trip regardless before we did the studio visit.

[00:51:44] I'm sure because, but then I have to ask him and I have to be like, you know, let's do it. And you know, then also how many show how many. How many dealers in New York are in the studio in Bali asking him to do a show in the Hamptons? Agreed. That's [00:52:00] amazing. Yeah. You know what I mean? And it's kind of like, I can almost picture it for him.

[00:52:04] It's almost like he could have preferred, he could have preferred doing it out here then right back into the city. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like the same way I think you were just saying he kind of liked to stay, to hang out. Like he felt more comfortable in certain places. Um, you know, I could almost feel like it made more, it made more and even working with me, cause me and him have that surf thing, you know, we're both surfers.

[00:52:28] So like, I have that commun like I can communicate with him without even talking or showing a CV or anything. It's like we're both surfers and we know each other from when I was 14. So it's like there's a comfort thing that's just there. Yeah. Yeah. That's, you know, I think that was amazing. I think that's a great, you know, opportunity and so, No, it was, it's really ins and I feel so, it's so sad having him gone and I send my love to Cherry and yeah, and [00:53:00] io and, um, yeah, it's, it's really, it's really heartbreaking.

[00:53:04] We, we could talk about Ashley for like three hours, but easy, you know? Yeah, totally. You know, I'd like to get back, so we've talked a lot about the art world, but not as much about your surfing background. Um, and you, you had said you had competed in like Australia and this and that, and, um, one of the main reasons we had people on is because we, you know, for guys like Ashley, myself, Chris, um, a lot of times it's not a direct correlation, but the, the experiences growing up and learning to surf and being in that community kind of inspires or in, you know, informs how we operate in whichever field we're in.

[00:53:51] Totally. And do you like, it might be going backwards a little bit, but like how do, do you feel like there's certain aspects of that that like [00:54:00] definitely jump out outside of it just being like, you know, guys like connections with Ashley or Vito or people like that, but like more like how you operate and how you think about things on a day to day?

[00:54:10] Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's interesting because it's a big part of my life, you know, surfing was like, when I was growing up, it was like my dream was to be a professional surfer and like yeah. You know, sponsors and getting new boards and putting stickers on your boards was like the most exciting thing. And it kind of still is.

[00:54:28] And I'm still, you know, and I'm still, you know, I'm trying to get back to, you know, being able to surf like sick waves in the mental wise or like, you know, maybe getting some time on the North Shore or like, you know, because that's a really big part of my life and. It's, um, yeah, like I was saying before, it's a teacher.

[00:54:51] It's my physical space and it's where I feel really, you know, the same way I'm starting to get to that point with the [00:55:00] gallery and like having time in the gallery world. So you have a cer you know, a certain confidence comes, comes with time. It's like surfing, like I know surfing so well and so instinctively and it's like I can kind of, when I'm out in the water Yeah.

[00:55:16] It's like when it's a, it's a really important thing and it's like I want to be doing it more and I feel at 38 that I'm physically, I'm still pre, I'm still pretty like right there. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah, you're totally bar high. There's a big jump from 38 to 41.

[00:55:40] Bro, I'm, dude, you gotta, you gotta cross over the to the 50. I know, I know, I know. And then I know it's gotta happen now, but I'm going to, yeah. Surfing is like, you know, being friends with people like Stephanie Gilmore and getting to surf with her and like Yeah. Having this on, it's like I'm the biggest fan [00:56:00] of surfing and like, um, and that world and everything I do, it's gonna be, it's influenced by that, like, opening up a gallery in Australia, it's cause I want to surf, like Yeah.

[00:56:10] You know, these insane waves that are all over Australia and um, Yeah, I think it's something that I, it's also like a card that I have, which is a weird card to have in this, in the art world. Strange. Yeah. But it's, it's somehow come to be that it, like, it's become, you know, it's like part of my identity and it gives me, you know, with certain people they, they, they know.

[00:56:32] You know what I mean? It's just like, it's funny. Yeah. But we were hanging out at your gallery. The, um, it, it is one of the funny things I thought was like, when you showed that, yeah, that book out of Avedon's property, I was like, oh, I used to surf out there before I, not Avadon, um, Warhol. Yeah. I was like, that's, you know, I surfed there before I knew who he was.

[00:56:49] Then you and I started talking about an artist in Australia who I love and I think is actually a very good contemporary artist. Ozzy Rome. Yeah. [00:57:00] But he doesn't have the platform outside of like, like he does to a point. But it's um, I would, yeah, a little bit. It's a little bit like pigeon held into that sphere.

[00:57:12] We don't want to blame Volcom obviously. No, no, no, no. They're, you know, they're a great like platform in a way. And they were to, you know, what do you mean blame? Yeah, actually thanks Volcom, because they kind of, they picked him up. Yeah. They picked him up and they kind of gave him that platform to show his art.

[00:57:26] Like, I feel like recently, or from working with him just, you know, on this last trip to, to Australia, like, I don't think I knew that that was all his art, like in those ad campaigns, it was always like, Ozzy Wright, like o like as a kid go away. But now you look at, you can recognize it as an aesthetic, you can recognize it.

[00:57:44] And that's been kind of his, that's where it's, that's been the incubator for it. And yeah, we, you know, I'm, I'm excited to have included him in this recent show. And, you know, anytime I start working with someone that's, you know, that's a, it's a very [00:58:00] big step for me. So I, I can totally see him. I could totally see doing a show with him out here in, in, um, yeah, in the Hamptons and stuff.

[00:58:07] And I think his, but you know, I also have to contextualize and make sure it kind of makes sense or No, I, no, I don't actually. Not really, it just has to feel Right. But it's, it's already kind of happening because, you know, it's, it's dope to have met him and have, you know, he was one of the proper studio visits that I did in Australia.

[00:58:28] That's amazing. You know, and I brought my sister's oldest son Astro with us, I mean with me. And it was really, it was a really special kind of uncle Nephew moment too, you know? Yeah, yeah. Chris. So I wanted to touch on now, like, um, what, what's coming up for you in the next couple of months so that we could kind of give a shit, well trip?

[00:58:54] What's, what's, what's going on? Like, what are we gonna have going on out there for the next, like, you have this upcoming [00:59:00] residency hang. Yeah.

[00:59:02] So tomorrow, so we have the Jonathan Beer Show. That's up and that's ending. We have the Jonathan Beer Show and the residency both going on at the gallery at the same time. And we're gonna do the first solo exhibition with Lath McGregor, who's an Australian artist, who's I mentioned earlier, who's the brother-in-law of my best friend from Bali Chemo. Mm-hmm. God bless his soul. Um, he recently passed and I'm so, so happy that he, you know, made this introduction.

[00:59:37] And, um, you know, we, we keep it going and we keep continuing, you know, the, you know, while we're here. We keep on, we keep continuing for. For all of our friends. And, um, yeah, lates, he's, it's gonna be his first show in the us. He did a residency with Art Omi, upstate New York last summer. So he's started to be, you know, involved in the art [01:00:00] community here.

[01:00:00] And he's in every big museum's permanent collection in Australia. Very well collected in Australia, but has never kind of worked with a gallery in the US So this is a, an exciting first show. And, you know, I'll be, um, yeah, unveiling a, a cool body of work that I got to see in Australia. He lives 15 minutes away from the pop-up gallery that I did in Australia.

[01:00:24] Um, and then we're doing a show with Lucy Winton, who's lives five minutes from the gallery. Um, it's her first solo show with me. Might be her first solo show. I, I, I have to look at her cv. She's the coolest, the coolest person, completely timeless. I, I have no idea what generation she's from. She's like from, I think she's from a, a future generation.

[01:00:51] And yeah, her work just transports you into her own, like her fairytale worlds. Um, and that'll take place after Laith. And [01:01:00] then I have two big shows that I'm, you know, waiting on a couple, a couple things to, you know, before I want to, uh, speak about them. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, and yeah, the summer's interesting because the summer has, it brings a lot of pressure, but it's also, like we were talking about earlier, it's like a lot of, there's, there's a lot of fluff going on, so it's like, yeah, it's almost the most important and the least important, but, you know, but at the same time you have to like make your whole year's worth during July or so.

[01:01:30] Yeah. Yeah. Find, so you find the summer is, is a lot more social than it is. Um, You know, curatorial. Yeah, it definitely a hundred percent is because everyone is hosting everyone. You know, the, all the, in, like all the institutions like Parish Guild, hall Longhouse, reserve Water Mill Center, you know, uh, the church, I'm sure they all have their, they all have to do their benefits, so they all have to kind of choose a weekend.

[01:01:59] They [01:02:00] try not to overlap and it's like how many weekends are there and like, how, so it's like you ki yeah. It's, it's interesting. Um, but yeah, I have a couple kind of exciting things planned, you know, so amazing. Yeah, it'll be good. And I'm just, you know, I, I kind of am working on planning ahead, getting more ahead of schedule, but it's, it's tough cuz you have to, you have to be, you know, like the ocean teaches you, you have to be, you know, up, up for it and ready for, um, a adjustments and kind of to be current and to be really tapped onto the pulse.

[01:02:34] It's a little different than the museums, you know, you really have to be able to navigate a little quicker, you know? Yeah, yeah. So, Chris, you want, you wanna, uh, finish up with our, uh, with our standard here? I, I think so, unless you have any other questions you wanna rattle off real quick? I know that like, I could talk to Trip, I know, three hours, so For sure.

[01:02:55] I guess I, I wanna give a quick shout out to, uh, my mom Terry, Terry Patterson. [01:03:00]Just cuz I feel like, there you go. Yeah. She's, uh, you know, whenever we're talking about surfing on the East end, we gotta bring her name up because she's such a, she's such a legend out here. She was the director of the E s A for five years.

[01:03:12] Brought the membership from like 90 members to around 500 members at one point. It was the second largest district in the NA in, in America. And, um, Yeah, she was one of the, you know, one of the early fema, you know, woman surfers out here in New York and, you know, surfing Yeah. Since, since the early nineties and stuff.

[01:03:32] So, so big shout out to Terry. Is she still super involved? She's not. She got, she said she just got her wingnut, her Robert August Wingnut board. She just got a new one and she's w she's uh, she's in Maryland and she's working on getting back out there. I think one of the last time I, I took her out on, on Mother's Day a few years back.

[01:03:53] Oh, I love that. Yeah. But that's fantastic, man. Yeah, no, big up, big up surf [01:04:00]mom, tp. I love it. Very lucky to have that, you know? Yeah. I grew without supportive parents surfing, so they have a mother who like, you know, would support you to do that. It's amazing. So, yeah. It's so cool. That's cool. Fantastic. They allowed you to be a rebel.

[01:04:15] Yeah. So we got some, we got some really quick questions for you at the, at the end of our interviews, we always like bust this out. It's called On the Clock, and all you have to do is to answer these questions as quickly as possible. Um, maybe one sentence. Okay. Brief even one word. One word. Good. Let's see if, can it be a run on sentence?

[01:04:39] No. Joking. No. You know, it usually it, and it usually turns into a bigger discussion. But let's try, let's try it. So the first question is, what are your currently riding? I just got four new a Mex and I'm so pumped. I think it's like the biggest, no, I got four new a Mex the last time, but these, [01:05:00] these, this is the biggest quiver I've ever gotten in my surf career.

[01:05:03] So I'm super What, what size is in shape? Uh oh yeah. And that wasn't one sentence. Um, five. I got a two happy. My normal favorites are Freddy Rubble, but they don't really make them anymore. So now I'm on the two Happys and there's a couple other ones. I got a, a step up. I got, I got two short boards and two step ups.

[01:05:23] Nice. Nice. What's the biggest one? Custom Meric and shout out to Island Surf for always holding it down and Al Merrick for hooking up good prices. Nice. That is killer. That is killer. All right, so, um, what are you currently listening to? Bob Marley. All right, there you go. Yeah. And Bob, Bob Marley turned, it, turned to, um, reggae cuz it kind of like Spotify starts swerving in.

[01:05:51] Yeah. Yeah. But I put on Bob and, and the Whalers. I was feeling that the other day and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna listen to Bob for like, I think I've been listening until for the last [01:06:00] like four days, five days. And I'm, I could be on this one for a moment. Yeah, I know. It's like, I'm like that. You like go down the rabbit hole and you're like, I'm comfortable with this.

[01:06:13] Yeah, totally. It's a good place, right? They put out a series of in 10 years or something. Yeah. They put out a series of children's books. So like, my daughters and I read Bob Marley lyrics in a book. No. Yeah, that's, so I rise up this morning, you know, like, yeah. Oh, your daughter's the future. God bless.

[01:06:32] That's the generation. I'm so pumped on that. Jen, how old is she again? I have five, four, and one. Yeah, under 10. That's the gen. Yeah. Well they're, they're, they're moldable. You gotta get in there early, man. Bring 'em to the gallery next time. I will. Um, all right. What are you currently reading? Um, a Stoic, the Stoic thing.[01:07:00]

[01:07:00] It's right here. I forgot the name of it. The Daily Stoic that James, that James Crook got me. Oh, nice, nice. My friend James Crok gave this to me for my birthday a few years ago, and, um, he's who I did the first, I did my first art show with on the not artist side. He was kind of like the business partner side.

[01:07:25] Ah. But he's like my same age, maybe a year older, but we kind of both, you know, did it together. Cool, cool, cool. All right, so, so this is a, this is a little more local, um, Guild Hall or the Parish Art museum. Ed. Why Guild Hall? Andre Grover. What up? There you go. I like, all is dope. And they also, they gave my little brother, um, his first solo museum show, and he was also the first artist to get a, have a solo show there from the, that was born in the Hampton.

[01:07:59] So, [01:08:00] no, I saw, I saw some behind the curtain paintings. They were very good, very good. Those paintings are crazy. He built a racetrack and, and, and conducted a remote control race car, uh, tournament for his opening at the Parish Art museum. That's, that's killer. And he had a, and he had a 12 year old rapper on a scaffolding inside a fence, and he made everyone sit in the fence inside the gallery while this race car remote controlled fucking car is launching.

[01:08:30] One launched into the fence and then he had a booboo savage turned up and did a, did a rap performance on the scaffolding. Yeah. He, he turned Guild Hall. There was tire tracks on the ceiling. Dude, it's so not the Hamptons. I love it. I love it. They were, they were ready. I mean, they were, they weren't ready, but Andrea like, yeah, sh she gave him the, the window and he.

[01:08:53] You know, it's, it's important. We're, we're important. We're in a very important, we're in a very important, uh, year and, and, and [01:09:00] age. All right, so here's the next one. When was the last time you dropped in on someone and was it on purpose or by accident? Oh, I burnt people all the time. I love you. Love that.

[01:09:13] Love it all the time. I'll, I'll burn people just to make 'em just prove a point. I love it. I'm sure, I'm sure it was recently, oh, no, the last time I surfed, I broke my rib and nobody else was out. Um, but yeah, I'm sure it was recently. Yeah, I, I dropped and it was, and it was on purpose. And it was definitely on purpose.

[01:09:36] Yeah. Yeah. It's not even about localism. I drop in on my friends just for kicks, you know? I'm like, eh, you know. Do you wanna tell that person? You did it on purpose? You wanna name them or no? Um, no. I, I probably told them they, they probably already know. That's hysterical. They probably, they, they can't forget it, you know?

[01:09:55] All right. Alright, well the next question is, did you feel badly about it? [01:10:00] Not at all. Not at all. No. Nope. Nope. Love this. Nope, because it's, yeah, it's very, you get to a point, if I'm dropping in on you, you, there's the person shouldn't have been going. So, you know, I hope I, I taught them something. I appreciate that.

[01:10:15] To a point. Yeah, that's a good point. Well, you know, that's such an old man attitude. Like, like, you know, new age surfers and that like, oh, you gotta be fair and equitable. You gotta be a teacher. And I'm like, no, you don't. No, no, you don't. You, you gotta be fair. You gotta put the time in. I agree. All right, so what was your most recent, memorable wave written?

[01:10:40] The, the barrel to break broken rib. Really? There you go. Where, how did that happen? Where was that? And I have, it was all on drone footage. My friend, um, Alex filmed it. Ooh, where, where was that? The drone out? All the boys had just pulled up, we're at White Sands. Oh, okay. And [01:11:00] I was out there by myself. It was like not that long ago, I think right before Easter.

[01:11:04] And, um, oh. Probably get in trouble cause I yelled no. Um, and yeah, I got a barrel. I was like getting drilled. I saw everyone on the beach, like they were probably all waiting to come out. And I was like, fuck, I gotta get a good one. Gotta get a good one. Finally got a good one. Not stand up, but kind of stood tall.

[01:11:20] And then I was like, I came out and of course the second you get a little full of yourself, the ocean brings you right back to Earth. So I pulled out, did a floater, landed, got compressed, my, like thigh hit my knee, and I like fractured a rib. I've been out of the water for like three weeks. Yep. Dude, I, I, I've had a conversation so many times.

[01:11:43] The second you get a little bit, you know, Confident the ocean's like, ah, dude, there's no, there's nothing, there's nothing worse than a, than a broken rib that will humble you for months. I know. It's like a rude reminder. Yeah. [01:12:00] It only hurts when you breathe a little bit. No, it hurts when you sneeze. It, it, it hurts.

[01:12:04] It hurts when you go to the bathroom, dude, it's, it's terrible. It's, it's terrible. It's terrible. It think, you don't know if it's hurting on the front or the back. You know why? Cause it's in the middle of your fucking body. Yep. No, it's terrible, dude. But it's a good reminder. And I, yeah, I, I feel, yeah, I feel, I feel blessed.

[01:12:22] It wasn't worse. And you, you know, as surfers injuries come with the territory, so like, if you get an injury, you really gotta kind of, it's like good. It's like, okay, great. Yeah. I got, I got past that one. You know, I'm good. I'm good for a couple years. Right.

[01:12:44] Dude, it was, it was a pleasure. It was a pleasure to catch up with you. And, um, we learned a lot and I hope, uh, people who listened, learned a lot about you and your practice and your inspirations and, and the history of Long Island and, um, how you're keeping it real out there. And, um, I [01:13:00] hope to get out there.

[01:13:00] I'm gonna get out there, you know, I'm actually, yeah. The next opening is May 6th. May 6th. All right. Okay. Yeah. And thank you guys so, so, so much. I really, I really appreciate you reaching out and inviting me to be on here and listening to the tangents. And it's, it's, it's been a blast. It's been a blast. Uh, yeah.

[01:13:21] Chopping it up with you guys. Thank you so much. Great. Greatly appreciate it. We appreciate your time, man. All right, we'll, we'll see. We'll try to see you on the sixth.