ARTWORK OF ANNIE SESSLER AND JOHN TODARO: "EAST/WEST" at Ashawagh Hall

On Saturday and Sunday November 23 and 24 Annie Sessler and John Todaro will be showing their work at Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton. Annie is a fish-printmaker from Montauk and John is a photographer from East Hampton.he show will run 10 to 8 pm on Saturday and 10 to 5 pm on Sunday. There will be a reception on Saturday,  November 23 between 5pm and 8pm. Admission is free, and children are welcome. 






Ashawagh Hall is located at 780 Springs Fireplace Road in East Hampton, about 3 miles north of the village. The hall is within walking distance of the Springs General Store and the Pollock/Krasner house.






The show is entitled “East/West” in order to highlight two very interesting interpretations which are specific to each artist:  Annie's work has historical ties to an old Japanese traditional practice of imprinting actual fish and is informed and inspired by Eastern philosophy and religion,  while John's work reflects his home in East Hampton along with travels to the American west. Their diverse artistic styles are unified here by a celebration of nature as both subject and inspiration.   They each combine simple and complex elements in their works portraying a powerful vision that is both energized and tranquil . 






Annie and her husband live, fish, and create art in Montauk. They are printmakers who practice their specialized art form wherever they travel, employing the Japanese craft tradition of Gyotaku. Using this direct nature printing technique with water soluble, non-toxic inks and freshly caught fish, they make original hand made relief prints on recycled, vintage and new natural and synthetic fabrics. Their works have been exhibited internationally and a collection is on continuous display at Noah's restaurant in Greenport. Annie founded East End Fish Prints in 2006. 






Their work has been featured on the CBS Sunday morning show, on the Ovation Channel, in the The New York Times, on the menus of the Red Lobster restaurant chain, in Edible East End, Brooklyn & Manhattan, in the East Hampton Star and Press, and on One Kings Lane. At Ashawagh Hall Annie will be introducing limited edition works as well as crafted objects that incorporate the prints.






John has been a frequent exhibitor on eastern Long Island. He's won numerous awards, and his work hangs in many corporate and private collections. His photographs are on display as part of the permanent collections at Southampton Hospital and at the Harold McMahon Medical Building in Amagansett. His photographs have been published by The New Yorker, Men’s Journal, Town And Country, LI Pulse, Unicef, Metropolitan Home, Crain’s New York Business, Modern Luxury and other magazines. He studied with Anthony Nobile (himself, a student of Minor White's). John also worked as an assistant to the curator at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, where he catalogued thousands of historic photographs.






At Ashawagh Hall John will be showing new pieces from East Hampton along with recent work from the west. He'll be printing in both color and black and white, creating landscapes and abstractions from both locales with the common bonds of light and mood.

For more information, links for both artist's websites and email may be found here:

http://eastendfishprints.com/