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grant haffner made the Annual Artist
VIP ListLong Island Pulse | Published: Friday, July 31, 2009 Artist VIP List They are rebels. Outcasts. Temperamental in their quests for perfection. Purveyors of subversion. Children. They
are wise old men. Thieves. Pedantic women. Sometimes giddy in their joy, other times bitter from the thoughts caught on the
tips of their tongues. They are compelled. † Although he is gratified by it, an artist does not seek your approval.
He ricochets through the universe, a free radical, his soul chipped by one moment, expanded by the next. Zen happens when
the two collide and a work spontaneously springs from the profound energy of their balance. † An artist writhes through
an orgy of materials, ideas and influences to achieve, if only once in his life, a work of timelessness. And in this idolatry,
he is rendered vulnerable. He is rocked by the inconsistent judgments of those who posture themselves as critics—today
friends, tomorrow fiends. † The artists celebrated on these pages don’t make pictures. They create images that
provoke an evolution of thought. To know them is to acknowledge one’s own limitations. To follow them is to promote
an expanding consciousness. † Somnambulists need not apply. –nadA
Grant Haffner
Landscape
Sag Harbor
This painter is unique, honest and inventive. He
creates works that are at once flat in composition and yet complex in their use of a solarized palette full of contrasting
primary colors. Intersections are central to planar landscapes recreating transitional scenes in modern parlance. Each panel
is a surprising, stimulating contradiction in terms. http://www.granthaffner.com
Light in Winter: Dan Flavin at Diaby Marianna Levine * Posted on December 25 2008 * It is rare to find something interesting to do and beautiful to see
for free in the Hamptons, but that is exactly what you get at the Dia Art Foundation’s Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton.
Simply stated it is a permanent florescent light exhibit in a former church that was once a firehouse. However, the
experience of visiting the DFAI is much more complex. One enters a rustic looking building under a blue
neon light awning that intensifies as the sky darkens. Walking into the bright white interior you’re greeted by the
young and friendly Institute administrator, Grant Haffner. Haffner, a local artist, calls the institute
“a hidden gem”, that has discreetly resided in Bridgehampton since 1983. The building was personally
scouted as a location for his work by Flavin back in the 1970s while he lived in Wainscott. The building
itself inspired the installation, a series of small, divided spaces inhabited by many hued sculptural light tubes.
That description does not do justice to the melding of colors, light, and space that confronts the viewer upon entering
what sincerely feels like the sacred space it once was. It took Flavin five years to perfect the project, luckily with the
unwavering support of Dia which believes in allowing artists take their time in order accomplish their project’s potential. The Dia Art Foundation supports art and artists from the 1960s
onward, with a specific interest in maintaining permanent or long-term exhibits around the United States. Heffner explains,
“Dia’s goal is to give work as much time as possible to inhabit a space, more than two weeks or a month, because
the idea is that work needs time to be experienced. One needs to develop a relationship with a painting
or work – to see it in different lights and moods.” Haffner himself says that working at the
Institute has been a pleasure; because he’s been able to experience his relationship with the artwork evolve over time.
Pieces he once loved have now been dropped in favor of others, and he’s really noticed how the colors change
and blend with each other in the florescent light installation. Even DFAI’s visiting exhibits, currently
German artist Imi Knobel’s painted color collages remain for a year or two. Dia’s co-creator Heiner Fredrich explains that the DFAI in Bridgehampton is world renown
and therefore throughout the summer art enthusiasts and their friends come out to the East End specifically to visit the museum.
However, as a resident of Bridgehampton himself, Fredrich wanted to make sure DFAI was open and available to the local population,
and therefore the Institute is now open every weekend from noon to 6pm through-out the year. He also added
that the Institute is now open on Fridays by appointment, which he hopes will enable local schools to visit. Haffner reports
there have been a lot of families and repeat visitors coming during the winter months. “Recently
we’ve been remarkably busy.” And he’s noticed an increase in local visitors who return with friends to show
them around as if giving a tour in their own home, which is really the point of having a permanent art installation such as
this around. Eventually the work becomes as familiar as family. Also, Haffner has noticed that the early nights of winter have added a new aspect to viewing
the work. “ In the summer it stays out light later so you don’t experience the intensity of
the light in the darkness that you do in winter.” Haffner also muses that the winter is more of an
art season since it invites contemplation. “Out here in the summer there’s so much to do. There are always so
many events, and of course there’s the beach to go to.” The dark and chill of a winter night makes the space cozy and inviting, as one wanders past the initial brightness
of the white circle florescent sculptures and up into a v-shaped entrance split by a single red light. Children seem to be
especially taken by the light and spacing of the installation. Each corner is welcomed with wonder and discovery by DFAI’s
young visitors, and Heffner hangs drawing left behind by young patrons on his office walls. As a
young girl ran up the stairs and turned the corner into the installation’s red entrance she gasped, “Oh!”
And then ran into the larger space, eagerly disappearing around another glowing wall. Haffner had warned earlier that
the experience of serenity could easily change to an assult depending on the amount of people viewing the pieces and the brightness
of the light. Yet all ways of experiencing Flavin’s work at DFAI, regardless of age, seems ultimately satisfying.
Publication: The
East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press Grant Haffner works to perfect the art of keeping
busyBy Pat Rogers Dec 9, 08 3:27 PM  "Sunset on Napeague" by Grant Haffner." Grant Haffner is a busy man. So busy,
he had to bypass the Saturday opening of a two-person exhibit featuring his artwork at Sen Spice Lounge in Sag Harbor.
In a sense, his crowded schedule isn’t all that unusual, and not completely by choice:
the Springs artist’s agenda typifies the struggle of many area artists who juggle employment, financial obligations,
making new work, and trying to secure spaces where their art can be seen. Attending art openings to see the work unveiled
for the public is a perk that cannot always be enjoyed. Mr. Haffner wears one additional hat.
He is one of the movers and shakers of Bonac Tonic—a grass roots art collective that stages group shows. Bonac Tonic
exhibitions typically include founding members: Mr. Haffner, Scott Gibbons, Justin Smith and Carly Haffner, his twin sister.
The group has a core of seven members. Most times, the exhibiting artist list is greatly expanded.
The shows—held several times a year—can be open calls, collaborations with other art groups or include multiple
artists invited to exhibit. Shows have been held at Ashawagh Hall, Clovis Point vineyard in Southold and art fairs in Miami
and Manhattan. The community aspect is important to Mr. Haffner. So is making his art. Since bursting
onto the area art scene three years ago, Mr. Haffner manages those obligations he holds dear while pushing forward with his
art. His paintings have a consistent and identifiable style: they depict local landscapes in Day-Glo colors that zoom on the
canvas. The paintings typically feature actual roads that divide pastoral views dotted with telephone poles that announce
man’s hand. The images are intended as a commentary on development of the East End, Mr.
Haffner said. The unusual views are his way of capturing the place he grew up. Driving the major byways—traveling from
work to home as day yields to dusk—was a quiet time of peace. The solitary drive allowed time for the mind to wander
and the eye to notice how the colors of a sunset draped nature in a veil that was beautiful and different. “There’s something about being on the road that’s romantic,” Mr. Haffner said. “I think
a lot of people can relate to taking road trips and watching the scenery go by. I lived in a busy house, so the time driving
home from work was the only time I had to myself that was quiet and peaceful. The way that the sunset changes the colors on
the plants and trees along the side of the road at that time of day was so beautiful I wanted to paint it.” Each of his paintings is imbued with emotion and the pleasure Mr. Haffner feels spending time in nature, channeling
the feelings Mr. Haffner experienced while driving on particular days. The emotional component is important because it’s
another point of access for viewers. “Emotions are so much a part of our lives and I find
that people seem to turn to landscapes when they need to relax—like taking a walk on a nature trail or to simply escape
their daily routines or take in some calm fresh air.” Mr. Haffner’s love of nature
pulled him toward landscape painting and keeps him there. One of his non-art jobs is working in his landscape business. “My
paintings become these little windows through which I can peek into a remembered moment or a feeling, or a particular time
of day or year or place that kind of makes my heart flutter. Or maybe it sparks a memory of a time or a story of home or being
on the road on an adventure.” The unusual color palette and the sense of motion adds an
unusual twist to typical landscape subjects. The range of color values he sees seems to differ from many people’s, he
said, and this palette makes its way into his work. The motion created by strands of telephone lines painted together conjures
the sensation of moving along a road that stretches out ahead. The telephone poles give the paintings depth and help create
an unusual viewpoint. Moving forward, he plans to incorporate alternate views of roadside accoutrements
that have become part of the public consciousness. The blue gas ball that used to command attention in Sag Harbor is one example.
So is the Stargazer deer sculpture in Manorville adjacent to Route 111 and the Big Duck, currently nesting by Route 24 in
Flanders. “It’s staying with the same theme of landscapes and the roads,” Mr.
Haffner said. “It’s just moving your eye a little to the right or to the left.” Now
that it’s winter, it’s time to paint. Mr. Haffner concentrates most of his energy on painting when landscaping
isn’t demanding and there are few Bonac Tonic shows to mount. Organizing his time and knowing how to divide it among
the year’s demands is the trick to remaining a painter, he said. The off season is when he tries to make enough paintings
to carry him through most of the active exhibition season. When shows are imminent, he will burn the midnight oil to complete
new works so the opportunity to fill the space allotted doesn’t pass him by. Painting in
concentrated spurts as time allows lets his painting technique evolve naturally. It also gives him the distance to review
paintings made previously and embark on new paths. Viewing the year as a whole has the benefit of helping him to understand
the cyclical nature of being an artist, the role time plays, and working through a vision as it unfolds, he said. The show
at Sen Spice Lounge includes paintings made from January through March 2008 and one or two made recently, specifically for
the show. Over time, his painting style has changed and viewing the work is like taking a trip through the recent past. “The paintings I’m working on now will not be shown for months or another year, and they become old to
me,” he said. “But when they’re shown—brand new to someone else—I see them in another light.
It’s strange, but that’s just the cycle of making art and working through your vision.” Grant Haffner’s “Rhythm & Rhyme of the Rural Roadways” will remain on view through December
14 at Sen Spice Lounge, 29 Main Street, Sag Harbor. The show also contains work by Lynn Matsuoka in the “Tattoos of
Devotion” series. Mr. Haffner’s work can be viewed at www.granthaffner.com and www.haffnervision.com. Previously, Mr. Haffner has exhibited at galleries in Montana and Miami Beach. He won the Catherine and Theo Hios
award for Best Landscape at Guild Hall’s Members Show in 2008 and 2007. Locally, he has exhibited at Ashawagh Hall in
Springs and the Silas Marder Gallery and Deshuk Rivers Studio in Bridgehampton. He has also exhibited at Scope Miami, Scope
Hamptons, and the Pool Air Fair in Manhattan.
Stroke of Brilliance  by Lynn Matsuoka
Out in the Hamptons, where artists abound and many are inspired to attempt creation of art in some form, true greatness, pure
talent... the compelling image... is nevertheless not always easily found. When i first saw the clean, crisp, abstract landscapes by Grant Haffner, everything
else in the gallery receded to the background. At first glance, the images seem dead flat, with ribbons of color defining
a road curving toward the horizon, thru simple fields of color with telephone poles and their thin lines accentuating the
sharp perspective.
But as you enter this world, you sense that it is not flat at all, but rich. I felt I was on that road, speeding toward
the horizon under the endless sky, with the comfort and solitude of the endless fields my companions. It is almost like
Twilight Zone. Standing in front of Haffner's painting, you enter through a portal to a zen-like world of deep silence
and a different time.
I asked Mr. Haffner how he arrived at this image that is his
constant theme, so much the same yet so different every time. It seems that he has always been fascinated by stripes.
His clothing, socks, sheets... all stripes. His shirt this day we talked was striped. And, his initial training
was in math and science which taught him a great work ethic, and no doubt assisted his linear take on his world. But
in 2001, he had had enough of this study and returned home in more ways than one. He returned to his parent's home to live, and 'home'
to where his heart was - to start painting, something he had wanted to do all along. He actually worked as a certified
arborist for awhile, but then returned to school, attending SVA in New York City to study illustration. On the drive
home, he began to develop his vision of the landscape, influenced by the works of Wayne Thiebaud, a connection you can clearly
see, as Thiebaud "dissected the landscape into lines and levels". He was always driving east on his way home, he explained, flying down the
road with the sunset behind him, the power lines and roads ahead in that special light. Then one day, stopping by the
side of the road to observe, the moment of catharsis arrived and he saw the image that he is painting today.
Haffner likes to work small, but is gradually
moving to larger canvases, a difficult task as he prepares all his surfaces with great care, taking, he says, all the time
he needs. portrait of the artist by Lynn Matsuoka www.hamptonsartist.com
Line Drawings LIPA Lines and Poles: A Bane for Some, a Muse for Others By Susan M. Galardi The season has begun in the Hamptons. There's an excitement, an energy, a buzz in the air - literally.  | A Water Mill back road, as Grant Haffner sees it. |
The buzz isn't news of P Diddy's next party in Landfall or the redwing blackbirds squawking
from the bulrushes, although that's happening too. The buzz is coming from the new LIPA poles - literally. The poles themselves
are buzzing. In the last several months, there's been much controversy, politicking,
progress, wins and losses connected with the installation of new electrical lines and poles in Water Mill and East Hampton's
Northwest Woods. LIPA recently agreed to bury lines in Water Mill along Scuttlehole Road, and just last week, they agreed
to bury part of the line in Northwest. But not all of them. Most - 90% - are being replaced and while LIPA spokesperson Ed
Dumas said, "It's my understanding that they're the same size and width" as the previous poles, the old
poles seem to be a needle in the haystack compared to the monstrosities replacing them. Dumas said that the poles seem larger
because, "when we change over our apparatus to new poles, we typically cut the head off the old pole." That head
seems to be about 10 feet high, and for some reason, the new apparatus hasn't been placed at the same height as it was
on the old poles. And there's the buzz. Near the corner of Hands Creek and
Alewive Brook Road, there's a pole that I call the Iron Giant. It looks like something from that animated sci-fi film
and while it doesn't utter robot speak, it does emit a very loud buzz. According to Dumas, "That's a transformer
- they should not be audible from the ground." On Friday, Dumas said he informed operations, and that they'd be "sending
someone out to see if there's something wrong with the transformer."  | Photos by S. Galardi |
Living in the Hamptons, and having lived in the city, there are things you can fight and things
you must just accept. Right now in Northwest, that latter category includes inchworms, the buzz of the iron giant (for the
moment) and the monster poles that look like they belong on an industrial site or superhighway. We East Enders like our views
- bays, oceans, farmland, horse meadows - and we pay big money to keep them. Not to mention, before LIPA chose to bury the
Scuttlehole lines, residents had planned to protest at the risk of being arrested. All
because we don't like seeing big poles and electrical wires muck up our sky view. But we do like sitting by the pool,
working on our computers, connected to the Internet via Airport and having our cell and cordless phones ready at the draw.
Considering that, sometimes I psych myself into believing that the tall poles are okay - after all, the apparatus is hidden
higher in the tree line - at least until the leaves drop or the inch worms decimate them. I'm not alone in my acceptance of the poles and lines. At least one other person, 28-year-old local artist Grant
Haffner, not only likes them, but has built a career on them. "There is something so beautiful about the way the power
lines dance along the side of the road," he said, "something so familiar because we are all aware of them."
 Haffner grew up on the East End, the son of parents who were into the art scene,
always doing "the wine and cheese thing at galleries," and they took him along. After a brief stint at SVA, he came
home and started painting East End landscapes. When Haffner first began painting, he edited what he saw. But one day, he asked
himself "Why don't I include the telephone poles?" From then on,
Haffner's landscapes have featured if not glorified the poles. His passion for them was a motivator to get involved in
the Scuttlehole scuttlebutt - but in a different way. "I admit that while
the Scuttlehole power line debate was going on I took the liberty of photographing them, a lot," he said. "It's
funny to me that it's such a huge debate, but I guess I am one of the few who thinks they are historically beautiful in
design. I loved the way they looked. I think they're strong, romantic. They carry everything across the planet." Haffner has his supporters, too. His fluorescent sunset painting of Route 27 east, where it
intersects with Sagg Main, earned him the Best Landscape award this past spring at Guild Hall. The painting features the poles
- totems to a society that once was and still is, for now, but not for long. Recently,
there's been talk about burying the lines in Montauk, where Haffner did much of his early landscape work. One wonders
how this might affect the young artist's muse. "Burying the lines is a good thing," he said, "and I guess
it's a new beginning for me as an artist. But there's nothing wrong with a new beginning. I love starting over. It
will be a time to adapt and change how I look at things." So as the debate
to bury the lines or raise the stakes continues, Grant Haffner will continue to paint the skies as he, and we, see them. Beauty
is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.
 (Grant Haffner, East 27, acrylic, marker, pencil on wood panel, 2007) I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best,
I can't keep track of each fallen robin.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
that's all, I don't even think of you that often.
-Leonard
Cohen Last night this blogger decided to try something
new. After given word-of-mouth of the Pool Art Fair's opening night at the storied Chelsea Hotel, I wandered
from my own Chelsea digs to take a peek at what the fuss was all about. Already having fair fatigue on Day 2 of NYC's
Art World Meltdown 2008, I thought to myself, "Well, it can't hurt to take a look, can it?" I was wrong. It
did. First of all, there's several things Pool
needs to do immediately to not drown in stagnant water. First: promote the show. Since it is a showcasing of unrepresented
talent, the fact that I only heard about it through word of mouth means much better work needs to be done on the part of the
promoter, Frere Independent, which also oversees the DIVA fair. As I walked to the entrance of the hotel, there on the glass
door was an 8 1/2" x 11" color flyer. Now I know this is an independent, D.I.Y., and very grassroots show, but any
casual person walking by would never have known anything was going on. I do think a trip to Kinkos might have sufficed. Secondly,
the opening night was less about showcasing the actual art to possible collectors and interested galleries than a casual hangout
of the artists' friends. In multiple cases I couldn't even get into the cramped and crowded rooms because there were
so many people loitering and blocking the works, drinks in hands, cigarettes to mouths. Yes, smoking was prevalent. To say
that this was an unprofessional atmosphere is not an understatement. Three artists' works stood out strongly from the rest-- Grant Haffner, Don
Porcella and Debra Drexler. First, Grant Haffner in Room 230. A fantastic
reworker of angles and planar landscapes, he juxtaposes intersections of sky with the open road. Through the use of a highly
solarized color pallette, he really brings his images to life, as well as through adept canvas preparation. The surfaces really
captured your eye. Add to it that the room was professionally hung, with an artist that was engaging and enthusiastic about
his work while easily sharing his knowledge with the viewer gives extra brownie points. Make a note to examine the tilting
power lines. At any moment you feel that they might topple. Haffner's horizons appear to extend as far as the eye can
see, with no end or beginning. Very relevant work referencing our open-ended existence. Next up, Don Porcella, also in Room 230. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw his little encaustic
Frankencreatures and ghost floaters. There was something wildly fun and at the same time obnoxious, (but not overly so), about
his pieces. I felt like I was back in grade school, trading sketches of the snotty nosed kid in the front row back and forth.
With each layer of waxy buildup, Porcella's storytelling is whimsical and touching. At times he goes a bit too far for
my own liking-- almost a kitschy Clown College-like quality-- but he steadies the course in the end, feeling much more like
the "Ghostbusters" Marshmallow Man has been subdued and is now a delicious Smore. Last, but certainly not least, Debra Drexler in Room 128. I was extremely impressed by her work.
Her painterly hand is magnificent. From side to side, I traced the motions of each of her broad-brushstrokes. Her pallette
is soft pastel against an underbelly of dark tonalities. There is a "damaged goods" quality to these works. I feel
that she has a great mastery of self-reflection and examination in each of her pieces. References to dreams and memory abound.
As a professor at the University of Hawaii, you can tell how much the tropical surroundings are beginning to become an influence
in her work. In her "Pool of Reflection piece," nature is guarded, but yet the solitary figure contrasted against
a dark tree root base is exposed in all its fragility. Fantastic stuff. Pool runs through Sunday at 8pm. Bring your best Sid Vicious and check it out. The Chelsea Hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street in Manhattan.
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