In her 1986 book, Art & Soul: Notes on Creating, the artist Audrey Flack recounts a time when, housebound in East Hampton, she listened to “Candle in the Wind,” Elton John’s elegy to Marilyn Monroe, allowing the muse to infuse the painting of Marilyn she was working on. Now two drawings of Marilyn, still evocative to the artist, as muse and goddess, are a compelling part of a show at M & M Fine Arts in Southampton: “Smiling Marilyn with JFK” and “Marilyn Phantom of Delight” (2014). The Marilyns, exhibited among many other works by Flack, are paired perfectly with art from Springs resident Amy Zerner. Using “goddess” as their theme, the artists occupy adjoining spaces with paintings, drawings, and tapestries that are distinctly feminist, strongly narrative, featuring bold female entities, provocative and beautiful. 
A world class artist, a pioneer in photorealism, a master sculptor, Flack’s expansive career includes a 1974 painting, “Leonardo’s Lady,” currently on view at MoMA. Goddesses are Flack’s metiere, including “Medusa,” depending on how you view the snakes adorning her hair. For me she’s beatific, radiating otherworldliness.
Amy Zerner, illustrator/author with Monte Farber, of many popular books on astrology-- Signs & Seasons: An Astrology Cookbook is a favorite --is also a fashion designer of note, embedding woven mythical narratives into jean jackets and velvet coats. At M & M, a mixed media collage tapestry, “Goddess of Memories,” radiates color and shimmers in textures of butterflies and jewels. “The Alchemist,” a tarot player tinged in blue, suggests a curative for these days of pandemic pallor.
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