Hamptons Edition - Summer 2022 by CulturedMag

THE LONG SUMMER PLAYBOOK DEUX FEMMES NOIRES | THE MUST-SEE ART SHOWS | REVISITING THE EAST END’S MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS

‘I HOPE THE WORLD IS READY FOR ME’ SYLWIA

Portrayed by Michael Bailey–Gates in Shoreditch, London. 14-18 March, 2022

EAST HAMPTON: 53 MAIN STREET VALENTINO.COM

‘THE WOMAN I AM BECOMING WILL BE PROUD OF ME’ #valentinopromenade

ANYIEL

FOUNDER | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SARAH G. HARRELSON

PUBLISHER LORI WARRINER

CREATIVE DIRECTOR KAT HERRIMAN

ELIZABETH FAZZARE; TALI JAFFE MINOR

CREATIVE PRODUCER REBECCA AARON

CONTRIBUTING ART DIRECTORS

INSIDER TRADING

SARA PENA; RONALD SEQUEIRA; ALEXIS LOPEZ

We asked 10 South Fork locals to share their summer musts.

BECCA LINCK

Longtime East Hampton resident Helmut Lang is packing up a suite of sculptures he’s been working on for years.

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

MARKETING ASSISTANT JUAN GRACIA

IN TRANSITION

LONG VIEW A handful of galleries are keeping the pace out East and opening must-see shows this summer.

OH, PIONEER Art advisor and third generation East Ender, Eden Williams, carries on the family tradition.

IN THE STUDIO Artist Ross Bleckner and photographer Stewart Shining share photos from a past studio visit and catch up about what is on the horizon in the Hamptons and beyond.

GOOD VIBRATIONS Notoya Green and her family are building a contemporary art collection driven by aesthetics, friendship and culture. Photography by William Jess Laird. Cover customization by Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont. On the cover: (from left to right) Artists February James, Leilah Babirye, Karyn Olivier; curators Thomas and Chevremont, and artist Kennedy Yanko at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill.

DAY TRIP Yvonne Force Villareal gives us her North Fork cheat sheet, from Greenport to Orient.

THIS & THAT Need some weekend inspo? See what’s new in town, from pop-ups to forest bathing.

STRING THEORY Sheree Hovsepian settles into summer in Bridgehampton after wrapping up works for her upcoming solo show at Rachel Uffner Gallery.

APRIL GORNIK April Gornik and Eric Fischl open nonprofit community and arts center, The Church, to the public.

PEEKING THROUGH THE THRESHOLD Co-curated by Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont, a new Parrish Art Museum show unites a roster of six female artists.

In the great state of New York, the transition from spring to summer is marked just as much by the reappearance of leaves on the trees and tulips in the garden beds as it is by the massive migration of Manhattan and Brooklynites eastward to the Hamptons. With this seasonal transformation, the city’s extraordinary concentration of creative energy relocates to a similarly tiny, but no less inspiring, tract of land. This year, our inaugural Hamptons issue captures the wide breadth of cultural activity that goes on here in the summer months. So, I couldn’t be more honored that Deux Femmes Noires, the collective formed by artistic polymath Mickalene Thomas and her partner, the trailblazing curator and collector Racquel Chevremont, agreed to be the issue’s guest editors. Mickalene and Racquel curated “Set It Off,” the Parrish Art Museum’s summer group show, a superb exhibition reviewed here by the legendary artist and critic Hannah Black. The pair’s both carefully considered and energetically electrifying touch suffuses the group show, just as I believe it does the contents of our book. While this short issue is by no means comprehensive, we hope that it offers some small picture of the variety of what the Hamptons and its surrounds have to offer. We have the fabulously acerbic art historian Jarrett Earnest introducing his friend, the photographer Matthew Leifheit’s sumptuous new book of Fire Island pictures, To Die Alive, situating the coffee table tome in the lineage of the radical group PaJaMa, the first queer collective of Long Island image makers composed of painter Jared French, his wife Margaret French and his lover Paul Cadmus. Next, we speak to Ross Bleckner, the American painter of flowers, stars and all manner of spectral apparitions, who has been visiting the Hamptons since 1993, about his love for the landscape, the inspiration he takes from it and his plans for working in the studio this summer. Then, photographer Aubrey Mayer brings us a six-page photo essay that captures artists like Elizabeth Peyton and Rashid Johnson giving rare entrance into their mercurial creative processes. Finally, we have crowd-sourced some of the best tips on how to spend your summer out here, from Hamptons mainstays like Adam Lindemann, Kelly Behun and Athena Calderone. If that’s not enough, I encourage you to head to culturedmag.com or to follow our instagram @cultured_mag for live updates as the summer unfurls. I hope you enjoy the issue and your summer, and I look forward to seeing you all at the incredible events we have planned for you alongside our brand partners out East.

THE FORK IN THE ROAD Aubrey Mayer presents a collection of unpublished images from years past.

MELTING In a new book, Matthew Leifheit channels a lineage of queer photography on Fire Island. CULTURED HAMPTONS ISSUE

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Sarah G. Harrelson Founder and Editor-in-Chief @sarahgharrelson Follow us | @cultured_mag

NORTH FORK: PHOTO BY CONOR HARRIGAN; GADSBY: PHOTO BY FLORIAN GADSBY

Far left: North Fork Table & Inn in Southold; Ceramist Florian Gadsby’s London studio, 2022. Left: Sarah Harrelson visits the Pollock-Krasner House and Studio in East Hampton.

SENIOR EDITORS

Insider Trading We asked 10 South Fork locals to share their summer musts. We got an earful— from the farm stands they adore to the noisy crowds they bemoan. Read on for an unofficial cheat sheet to making the most of the season on the East End.

Adam Lindemann Didier Malige HAIR STYLIST, WAINSCOTT

COFOUNDER OF SOUTH ETNA MONTAUK FOUNDATION, MONTAUK

What's your favorite farmer's market or local grocer? My most favorite food shop is called Loaves and Fishes in Sagaponack. And when it comes to vegetables, the very best corn is at Pike’s. What is one song always on your summer playlist? The album of my summer is The Bura by Bernard Fowler. He’s traveling with the Rolling Stones. Which local philanthropic, charitable or social change organizations do you champion?

What kind of artists do you wish you'd see more of in the Hamptons? At the South Etna Montauk Foundation we try to showcase artists who have never exhibited in the Hamptons, like Faith Ringgold, who was our recent show, or Richard Mayhew, who we'll show in August. My wife and cofounder Amalia [Dayan] and I unconsciously perhaps would avoid anything beachy (ha!). We want to see projects of quality. Last year’s Robert Colescott and Lonnie Holley shows were tremendous and gave us encouragement to continue the Foundation into the future. Montauk benefits from some good art at the end of Long “The album of my summer is ‘The Bura’ by Bernard Fowler. Island and we’re the lucky ones who are able to show it. He’s traveling with the Rolling What kind of art shows do you Stones.” wish you'd see more of in the Hamptons? I find the galleries in East Hampton are Madoo is a great example of an older pretty straight-up commercial, which is vision of a garden—and a spectacular understandable as rents are high and older garden mended by volunteers. the season is short. I miss my friend What is your theory on the best time to John McWhinnie who had an art book leave and return to the city? store with special artists' books I used There is no good time to leave the to collect. Visiting him was always a Hamptons during the week—unless

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treat; he passed away very young and I still think of him. The galleries that have opened out here are a welcome addition: Harper’s Books and Eric Firestone always do things that are offbeat and interesting. How have you seen the art community in the Hamptons change and how do you hope to see it continue to change? It’s growing and getting better, but it can still grow. Art in general seems to have captured people’s imagination more than ever. How have been your experiences with the community of artists that live yearround in the Hamptons? We plan on doing a fall/winter show of artists in the community called “LOCALS ONLY!"

Casey Fremont EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ART PRODUCTION FUND, BRIDGEHAMPTON What’s your number one packing essential for heading out East? Dr. Barbara Sturm SPF 50 Sun Drops. I’ll be forever trying to reverse the sun

damage from my teens, so I am fully committed to keeping my melasma at bay with proper sun protection in my thirties. I used to dread wearing sunscreen on my face because it felt like a hot mask, but these drops melt into your skin and you don't get that uncomfortable sunscreen feeling. What East End art show are you skipping the beach for this summer? The Parrish Art Museum’s “Set it Off” is an all-female group show curated by Deux Femmes Noires: Racquel Chevremont and Mickalene Thomas. Kennedy Yanko is included and I’m a huge fan of her work. I’m always excited to see how The Parrish is transformed by exhibitions, especially by the curatorial work of two brilliant women, Racquel and Mickalene. I’m also very impressed by the exhibitions (indoor and out) at The Ranch in Montauk, and look forward to a visit there. And, last but not least, my forever favorite, the Dan Flavin Art Institute. The permanent collection is a must see and the rotating exhibition space is always a treat. It’s walking distance from home, so it’s a frequent post beach, post Candy Kitchen ice cream visit. What kind of art shows do you wish you'd see more of in the Hamptons?

MALIGE: PHOTO BY JANE GILL; LINDEMANN AND DIAMOND: PHOTO BY EMMA CRAFT; FREMONT AND LEVAI: PHOTO BY DAVID X. PRUTTING/BFA; CALDERONE: PHOTO BY NICOLE FRANZEN

you’re ready at 4 am. But, of course, every driver has a plan. What kind of art shows do you wish you'd see more of in the Hamptons? I wish to see more galleries with smaller paintings and photographs. Are there any sustainability efforts you'd like your community to support, or are proud to share that it recently has? The potato farmers are using less chemicals. It was so bad that the grasses used to be gone by mid-August, just totally burned by chemicals.

Of course I would love to see more public art and site specific installations. It would be exciting to see public exhibitions by artists responding to the beauty of the East End and the art historical importance of the location. It’s such an inspiring place in so many ways. Exhibitions representing a wide range of diverse perspectives from artists working today who are responding to contemporary life, will continue to highlight the long standing significance of the area.

Athena Calderone INTERIOR DESIGNER, AMAGANSETT

Max Levai THE RANCH, MONTAUK What’s your perfect work-to-play ratio while in the Hamptons? Early surf, work, tennis, work some more, sleep. What’s your number one packing essential for heading out East? My Merrells. What East End art show are you skipping the beach for this summer? Richard Mayhew at South Etna Montauk Foundation. This will be the first time I see his paintings in person. What is one song always on your summer playlist? “A Simple Song” by Chris Stapleton. What is your theory on the best time to leave and return to the city? Avoid the mornings and drive at night.

What’s your number one packing essential for heading out East? A crisp, zippy and mineral-forward white wine. What East End art show are you skipping the beach for this summer? As an interior designer I always love Market Art + Design. But the Upstairs Art Fair in my small community of Amagansett will be top on my list this July. How do you hope to see the community in the Hamptons change?

“The level of collaboration between the local farmers and restaurants here is extraordinary. They have the utmost respect for one another, educating, connecting and sharing ideas constantly, both within and outside their field.” I have built the most incredibly supportive relationship amongst the farm and food community here in Amagansett. The level of collaboration between the local farmers and restaurants here is extraordinary. They have the utmost respect for one another, educating, connecting, and sharing ideas constantly, both within and outside their field. I have learned so much from them and would love to see this level of cross-pollination, unity, and inclusion throughout the design community here, too.

What kind of artists do you wish you'd see more of in the Hamptons? I would love to see ceramic artists having a presence. There is so much new talent in that space and they are ripe for a presence. I would also love to see more of a presence in Amagansett and Montauk— many gallery shows seem to be in South and Bridgehampton.

Nell Diamond HILL HOUSE HOME FOUNDER, AMAGANSETT What’s your number one packing essential for heading out East? I'm very serious about sun protection, so I always have lots of sunscreen: EltaMD for my face, and Supergoop for my body.

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I love to walk into Amagansett square in the morning, and I always wear my Hill House Sun Hat for added UPF protection. And obviously, a Nap Dress®. What is one song always on your summer playlist? “Hey Ma” by Cam'ron, always. What is your theory on the best time to leave and return to the city? My husband, Teddy, is very serious about optimizing our drives. We have three kids under five, and two of them get very carsick. Our recent schedule has been leaving the city around 8 pm, so the kids can sleep in the car and there's less traffic. The transfer from car seat to crib is always tricky, but luckily all three have been tolerating it recently. I usually wear my pajamas (Hill House, of course) and do my skincare routine en route, so I can go right to sleep when we arrive.

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FILM PRODUCER, EAST HAMPTON Describe an early Hamptons memory that brings you great joy. I grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and spent the first five years of my married and parenting life in Hong Kong so I have only known the Hamptons as a family summer spot! I have oh-so-many memories of our first summers out here. I always loved the go-kart race at Hayground, which is this cool creative magical summer camp where my son Spencer spent his entire summer designing and then building a gokart. At the end of the summer, there was a race—very loosely modeled after the Indianapolis 500—with a commentator giving the play-by-play on a megaphone. It was a scene: you’d have nine kids trying to move their beloved go-karts that barely moved around the course and it would take hours. The luckiest campers got to take their go karts home, and I still have one in our garage. What kind of art shows do you wish you'd see more of in the Hamptons? I suppose less expected ones, but the Hamptons art scene has really evolved and I kind of like what I am seeing… I was walking around East Hampton town today and saw a show at J.MacKay Gallery featuring works by students at LaGuardia High School. I love that kind of thing—art in the wild and stumbling upon the unexpected. Then down the street there's Firestone Gallery, Skarstedt, Pace, Halsey McKay and Rental—and that's just on the main strip! Which local philanthropic, charitable or social change organizations do you champion? I have a soft spot for the Hamptons International Film Festival. My newest film, The Art of Making It, premiered there in October. It takes place at such a beautiful time of year when summer turns to fall and is a joyous celebration of film and the Hamptons. I care deeply

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about cultivating the next generation of filmgoers and supporting independent filmmakers. I would hate to lose the magic of real live cinematic experiences and also the wonderful movie theaters we have in the Hamptons. Have any local figures played a significant role in shaping your career? If so, how? I can’t say that any local figures have played a role in shaping my career, per se, but the conversations I have had over lunches, dinners and walks have absolutely informed and shaped me. It's more accurate to say that the Hamptons in its entirety has played a starring role in shaping my life. What's your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant? Carissa’s for baking and soups and either Tutto Il Giorno in Sag Harbor for tequila, pasta and fresh fish or Topping Rose in Bridgehampton for whatever the chef tells us to eat. Other than that, we eat at home a lot!! How do you hope to see the community in the Hamptons change? My relationship with the Hamptons changed during the two years we lived there and I have a much greater appreciation for it as a year round community invaded by urbanites in the summer. Keep the volume turned down at least a bit! I don't want the Hamptons to lose its soul.

Kelly Behun INTERIOR DESIGNER, SOUTHAMPTON What’s your perfect work-to-play ratio while in the Hamptons? I feel fortunate to find this a difficult question to answer because I think when you love your work as much as I do it can feel like play, causing all the traditional work/play boundaries to blur. Which is a just roundabout way of saying that I should probably play more.

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Jeff Lincoln ART AND DESIGN DEALER, SOUTHAMPTON Which new cultural venues are you planning to explore this summer? The Peter Marino Foundation at the old Rogers Memorial Library on Jobs Lane in Southampton and Make Hauser & Wirth. Yet another indication that Southampton is a new global arts and design location that is firmly established and only getting better. What's your favorite farmer's market or local grocer? I am a Catena’s kind of guy. Shop local, think global. What's your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant? Fresh Little Neck clams and the hazy IPA at The Clam Bar in Napeague. Throw in a plate of fried clam strips for good measure. How do you hope to see the community in the Hamptons change? The Hamptons community has already changed in all the ways I hoped when I opened my gallery. Thankfully, I rarely get the question any more, ‘Are you doing your pop again this summer?’ Have any local figures played a significant role in shaping your career? If so, how? My local art installer Dave Orlando. Without him I am dead in the water, along with my gallery manager Sann Vandeventer, a longtime Southampton resident and factotum. Which local philanthropic, charitable or social change organizations do you champion? My charity is the Southampton Fresh Air Home, a great cause I make sure to support every year.

Fernando Wong LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, SOUTHAMPTON What East End art show are you skipping the beach for this summer? I am a fan of Erick Johnson’s work so I am excited about his exhibition at the Kathryn Markel Gallery. I am also looking forward to HFAF (Hamptons Fine Art Fair) in July. It is taking place in a 30,000-square-foot air conditioned tent at the Southampton Fairgrounds and has a phenomenal line up of galleries. How do you hope to see the community in the Hamptons change? I wish there were more bike paths. It would be so nice to see more people walking and riding bikes and many less driving cars. It would help the climate and make the Hamptons a much more beautiful and peaceful place. What kind of art shows do you wish you’d see more of in the Hamptons? I think that for a series of small seasonal towns the Hamptons does a fantastic job of including all kinds of art and artists. I have been coming for over 20 years and the art scene gets better every summer. A great example of this is the newly opened Peter Marino Art Foundation in Southampton.

BEHUN: PHOTO BY KELLY JOYCE; WONG: PHOTO BY BRANTLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

Debi Wisch

What East End art show are you skipping the beach for this summer? My friend Lisa Perry’s Onna House in East Hampton is stunning, and a remarkable example of what can happen when women support and celebrate each other. It’s a gorgeously restored private home with an impeccably curated permanent collection as well as a changing collection of artworks that put a deserving spotlight on female artists both near and far. What is one song always on your summer playlist? The Durutti Column’s aptly titled “Sketch for Summer” has for as long as I can remember been the song that most beautifully evokes summer for me. It’s an instrumental piece that is so simple and meditative, and for all the countless times I’ve listened to it, those birds chirping get me every time.

In Transition Helmut Lang, a longtime East Hampton resident, is finally packing up a suite of sculptures he’s been working on for years. Here, he explains why.

I understand you’re nearly finished with a years-long project. Can you tell us about it? I am finishing my broken hearts and other injuries (working title) sculptures, which I have been working on for around three years, waiting for the final push. Traumatic events, injuries, deaths, an ongoing plague and an ongoing war have made them more intense and more loaded along the way. I am ready to finish them due to the current situation and the urgency I feel about everyone’s emotional and physical injuries. At the same time, another sculpture is going out to von ammon co. in Washington, DC for an exhibition, “Focus Group 3,” which opens on July 17 and runs through August. The work is titled next ever after and it was created in 2007. It originally symbolized my transition to a fully committed artist life, but now I see it also as a reference to the concerns I have about where we are heading as we deal with climate change, a deteriorating planet and the urgent need to save the Earth. I feel if there is no immediate and effective approach to this, the fallout will be apocalyptic, and we are close to achieving it. How has the local landscape affected your work? I would assume it influences my work in an unconscious way as every surrounding does. Water gives me a sense of endless time—equally, the undisturbed natural landscape wherever this still exists. I find this feeling reassuring and continuous. On the other hand, it creates a counterreaction to be radical in art in opposition to nature. Which new cultural venues are you planning to explore this summer? I am planning to visit some artist friends’ studios. I haven’t made it to Eric Fischl and April Gornik’s The Church in Sag Harbor yet, and I will visit the new projects at the Parrish Art Museum and

LongHouse Reserve, where a piece of mine was installed a few years ago. Otherwise, I will see what comes up. Describe an early Hamptons memory that brings you great joy. A time when the equilibrium between local Long Islanders and non-Long Islanders was right. How do you hope to see the community in the Hamptons change? I have read statements from important architects, artists and writers who were already warning in the ’80s that the East End of Long Island was being overdeveloped and in danger of losing its unparalleled biodiversity, natural beauty and microclimates, which change dramatically and unexpectedly from one moment to another between short distances. It is dangerously close to losing its standing as one of the most beautiful, open landscapes on earth and turning into an endless, dense network of buildings, defying the reason why people came here in the first place. I hope we save what we still can.

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PORTRAIT: PHOTO BY DANIEL TRESE; STUDIO: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

BY TALI JAFFE MINOR

Above: Artist Helmut Lang in his East Hampton studio. Right: Lang’s broken hearts and other injuries (working title), 2019-2022.

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Now open in Southampton

Make Hauser & Wirth

A dedicated space for contemporary making and the crafted object

‘Of Making and Material’

2 Jul – 10 Sep 2022

1 – 15 Aug 2022

Residency with Florian Gadsby

50 Hampton Road @Make_hauserwirth

BY WALLACE LUDELL

Long View You may have noticed the summer calendar is a little more robust than usual. While there’s been an established art scene in the Hamptons for ages, and a handful of galleries dutifully keeping the pace, a new crop of dealers is bolstering the art scene even further. The names are familiar—David Lewis, Hauser & Wirth—but the addresses are not. And what’s more, these galleries are in it for the long haul, not just for the summer season. In between beach barbecues, surf breaks and strolls down Main Street, you might want to pencil in a little more gallery time. Here, we’ve rounded up a few shows that should not be missed across the East End. Left: Tomás Esson, Vortice, 2019. Photo courtesy of the artist and David Lewis Gallery. Alexander de Vol, Transference, 2021. Photo courtesy of Hauser & Wirth. Frank Stella, Wooden Star I, 2014. Photo by Oliver Campbell, The Ranch, Montauk.

TOMÁS ESSON DAVID LEWIS, EAST HAMPTON JULY 16 - AUGUST 7, 2022 David Lewis Gallery—which first opened its East Hampton space earlier this summer—is presenting a suite of works from Cuban-born painter Tomás Esson. Esson, whose first-ever solo exhibition was closed and censored by Cuban authorities after it opened in Havana in 1988, is known for work that toggles between the playful and the grotesque, settling in an energetic, uncanny middle ground. Here, the gallery is presenting paintings from one of Esson’s new bodies of work, as well as a site-specific “Wet Wall” drawing in black and white.

“OF MAKING AND MATERIAL” MAKE HAUSER & WIRTH, SOUTHAMPTON OPENS JULY 2 Make Hauser & Wirth—an offshoot of mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth with a focus on craft and design objects—is making its first stop in the U.S. Operating out of a new storefront in Southampton, not far from its Main Street gallery, objects in the inaugural exhibition, “Of Making and Material,” run the gamut from the quasi- to the purely decorative by artists

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including Helen Carnac, David Gates and Rosa Nguyen. Though it’s unclear if Make Hauser & Wirth will continue to occupy this location as a permanent space, a two-week on-site residency by ceramicist Florian Gadsby is planned for August, and another show is on the roster for fall.

“SCULPTURE” THE RANCH, MONTAUK The Ranch—an art space founded in 2020 by Marlborough Gallery-heir Max Levai and situated on a 26-acre horse farm in Montauk—is presenting Frank Stella “Sculpture.” The appointment-only show looks at the American master’s sculptural practice dating back to 1993, when computer technology first allowed him to “paint” in three dimensions. Four of Stella’s massive outdoor sculptures will also be installed in conjunction with the show, and they’ll remain up until November.

LESLIE HEWITT DIA BRIDGEHAMPTON Dia Bridgehampton, which is housed inside a small, turn-of-the-century building that had previously functioned as a firehouse and a church, was first founded in 1983 when—with the

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institute’s backing—the building was redesigned by Dan Flavin himself. (At the time, Flavin lived in nearby Wainscott, New York.) The site is now housing nine fluorescent light works by the seminal Minimalist, which range in date from 1963 to 1981. New work by Leslie Hewitt—whose practice is at the intersection of sculpture and photography—went up at Dia Bridgehampton in June, and will remain on view for a year. Newly commissioned sculptures are spread within and around the gallery space, and Hewitt also realized a number of diagrammatic scores for the show, which she composed in collaboration with artist Jamal Cyrus.

SAM MOYER + EDDIE MARTINEZ THE SOUTH ETNA MONTAUK FOUNDATION For the month of July, the South Etna Montauk Foundation will host a twoperson show of work by Eddie Martinez and Sam Moyer, a pair of leading abstractionists who also happen to be married to one another. Martinez and Moyer are painters who have each developed their own abstract lexicons

Leslie Hewitt, Untitled (Landmark), research image 2021. Photo courtesy of Dia Art Foundation. Eddie Martinez, Title to come, 2022. Photo courtesy of the artist and The South Etna Montauk Foundation. Stefan Rinck, Melon Man, 2020. Photo courtesy of Skarstedt East Hampton.

throughout their respective careers, and they’ve each continued to expand and grow upon them in recent years. Each artist will be given one room of the exhibition space, with Moyer presenting a new group of her stone paintings in one, and Martinez debuting a new series of paper-pulp works in the other.

STEFAN RINCK SKARSTEDT, EAST HAMPTON Opening in August and remaining up through the close of summer 2022, Skarstedt’s East Hampton gallery will host a solo exhibition of work by German sculptor Stefan Rinck. This will be the first New York solo show for Rinck, who works primarily in stone and whose zoomorphic sculptures feel both humorous and archaeological, as if worthy of altar-like worship at times and a good laugh at others.

OH, PIONEER

The Williams family has played an integral role in Sag Harbor’s rich black history. Art advisor and fourth generation East Ender Eden Williams continues in the family tradition. BY FOLASADE OLOGUNDUDU

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Tell us about your relationship with art dealer Julie Keyes. Eden Williams: The indomitable Julie Keyes of the Keyes Gallery in Sag Harbor has played a huge part in helping me to solidify my role as an art advisor. She is affectionately called “a force” by all who know her because of her boundless energy, her side splitting humor, her ability to connect with artists and collectors alike and her business savvy. We began our relationship by unofficially working together to promote the artist Claude Lawrence (whom my parents had brought to her attention several years ago) and then last year transitioned into more of a partnership when Julie asked me to work with her to bring on additional artists of color to Keyes Art. That’s when my career started to take a new twist. Up to that point I had been focused solely on Lawrence, and now I was given the opportunity to broaden my reach by helping to promote more

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artists. To that end, while collaborating with Carnegie Hall for winter programming on Afrofuturism, Julie asked me to take the lead with her and curate a series of exhibits Out East featuring Black artists. It was a truly exciting project and a real labor of love. We featured emerging artists Cullen Washington Jr, Leslee Stradford, Erika Ranee, Clintel Steed and Claude [Lawrence] in Sag Harbor, East Hampton and Greenport. It was the first time I’d been so involved with curating shows, and it really was Julie’s belief in me and her true collaborative spirit that made it all possible. Which other cultural hubs are you particularly drawn to? The Church in Sag Harbor. All the programming they have there is truly awe inspiring. It’s by far the best recent addition to the East End. I’m definitely going to attend “Equality Matters in the Hamptons,” a talk with Ursula

M. Burns (the former CEO of Xerox) on July 22. Next on the list is Montauk’s South Etna Montauk Foundation to see “Lonnie Holley: Tangled Up in De Kooning’s Fence” (which is up until August 29) and Robert Colescott’s “My Shadow” (which opens on August 20). Their Faith Ringgold exhibit in June was incredible. I will also be heading to the Springs to check out The Arts Center at Duck Creek. It’s an old restored barn surrounded by woods and rolling lawn that is now an exhibition space with outdoor sculptures, jazz concerts, lectures and art exhibits. It’s a beautifully authentic place and had actually been the home/studio of Abstract Expressionist painter, John Little, who was pals with neighbor Jackson Pollack. The particular focus of the programming is all about celebrating the thriving local artist community—both past and present. While it’s not brand new, it’s relatively new to me. My friend Jess Frost is the executive director and has incredible things planned to continue to showcase many under represented artists. Currently on view is an exhibition of works by former owner, John Little, through July 18. Of course, the music series is ongoing throughout the summer and beyond. And what can we look forward to from you in the months ahead? When I transitioned from publishing to art advisory, I realized that the beauty of uncertainty is that it offers infinite possibility. When you don’t know what’s next, anything can be next. That being said, Julie and I have several exhibits planned through the summer featuring emerging Black artists, such as Erika Ranee and Iona Rozeal Brown. Through this extraordinary opportunity, I now get to find and give underappreciated and underrepresented artists a well deserved opportunity to shine. How lucky am I?

PHOTO BY BROOKE WILLIAMS

Eden Williams, media and marketing publisher turned art advisor and curator, developed her curiosity for the arts at a young age. “I grew up surrounded by art and developed a real appreciation for artists,” says Williams, noting that her parents, E.T and Lyn Williams, have been passionate art collectors since the 1970s. “They were true pioneers in supporting artists, and by helping African American art gain recognition and prominence in the mainstream.” The sixties and seventies marked the beginning of the Black Arts Movement—a period of immeasurable growth and contributions made by African Americans artists to the canon of American art. While many artists, including Howardina Pindell, Faith Ringgold and Betye Saar, are only now receiving the widespread recognition and critical acclaim they deserve, Williams’ parents were among those on the frontlines—tirelessly working to open the doors of major cultural institutions to exhibiting the work of Black artists. “We’ve been out here for four generations. My parents bought (and still live in) a house that had been built in 1830 by David Hempstead, head of the AME Zion Church, that was actually a stop on the underground railroad,” Williams explains. “Can you believe that there was a robust population of Black whalers here around 1760-1860 when Sag Harbor was a thriving whaling port? They would work right alongside Native Americans and Europeans and harpoon whales. How cool is that?” While the industry may have changed, the rich, multi-cultural landscape of Sag Harbor remains. Here, Williams shares how she’s continuing the family legacy of championing artists of color through her recent projects across the East End. And, she offers a few highlights on her summer agenda.

GREENE STREET | MADISON AVENUE | AMERICANA MANHASSET | LAFAYETTE148NY.COM

SABINE MORITZ

m a r i a n go odm a n ga lle r y

new york

23 June – 5 august 2022

2 4 w e s t 5 7 t h s t r e e t n e w y or k n y 1 0 0 19

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In the Studio with Ross Bleckner In 2019, artist Ross Bleckner invited his friend, the photographer Stewart Shining, over to his East Hampton studio for a peek behind the scenes of his creative process. Here, Cultured catches up with Bleckner about what is on the near horizon, in the Hamptons and beyond. For now, the artist is preparing for a new exhibit of paintings at the Park Avenue Armory this fall.

What are you working on in your studio this summer? What upcoming shows do you have? Ross Bleckner: I always work on a number of different paintings so that coming into my studio, I always feel that I have different options, which correspond to what I’m thinking about and my mood. Currently, I am working on a group of new flower paintings. They are really about the movement of light and dark gliding along a surface and end up as abstract. They are being presented by Petzel Gallery at the Art Dealers Association of America’s Art Fair at the Park Avenue Armory this fall. Can you tell us a bit about your studio routine? My studio routine is pretty consistent. I’ve basically been in my studio in the Hamptons continuously since COVID began and have used it as an opportunity to stay focused, experiment and find new ways to make paintings that I have made before. I more or less do the same thing every day: meditate, work out at 8:00 a.m., head to the studio by 9:00 a.m., rest and read at 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., have dinner early, head back to the studio, sleep at midnight, then, repeat. Anything you are specifically looking forward to this summer? I’m looking forward to getting out a little more this summer. As you know, the last two summers have been pretty hermetic. “Out” means more interaction with the nature all around, swimming, kayaking and I always welcome meeting new people, as long as they aren’t phone addicted. Your Hamptons hot spot? I don’t really know the nightlife in the Hamptons but sunset at Maidstone Park Beach off Three Mile Harbor is pretty special. Best new addition to the Hamptons art scene? There are always interesting little pop-up venues that are temporary. I think there will be some cool ones this summer. The addition I like best is when artists move out here. Unfortunately, most who aren’t here already can’t afford it but in the Springs there are still possibilities, even if it’s just a friend’s garage.

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Good Vibrations

Kehinde Wiley, Purelife I (Study), 2007.

BY DOMINIQUE CLAYTON

Notoya Green and her family are building a contemporary art collection driven by aesthetics, friendship and culture. Living between Tribeca and Southampton, Green is a lawyer, writer, entrepreneur and mother of triplets and also works alongside her husband, Fred Mwangaguhunga, the founder and editor of mediatakeout.com, a leading Black celebrity news website. Their love for art began with visual attraction to pieces that triggered an emotional response but a work by Kehinde Wiley changed everything. from a gallery in Tribeca. It was huge, fit perfectly on our wall and was our big statement piece for a long time. Do you have a defining theme to your collection? Contemporary art is definitely a defining theme but as our collection grows, work specifically from Black artists is starting to define it more and more. What artists are inspiring you right now? Rashid Johnson, for sure. I learned about him from friends and love his work. I especially love his “Anxious Man” series. Does the marketplace help your discovery? Somewhat. I definitely look at the marketplace when trying to figure out pricing. I try not to use it to determine if I should buy a work or not. I’m at a stage where I’m really trying to buy pieces because I love them and not because the market says I should love them. I want to buy something I am going to love forever

whether it appreciates in value or not. What are your trusted methods for discovering new artists? I am fortunate to have a lot of friends in the art world who help me to learn about new artists. I feel like they always have their pulse on whose work I should follow more closely. I also go to art events, from galleries to events featuring local artists. What is the next piece on your radar? A Rashid Johnson piece. I also want another Mickalene Thomas. I’ve been picturing it in my head where I’m going to hang the pieces so I’m optimistic that it’s going to happen for me. What is the last piece you purchased? A piece by a Sag Harbor artist Claude Williams. What is the one piece that got away? A Kehinde Wiley. We bought one through a gallery from a seller who at the time had two of his pieces. Looking back, I wish we had offered to buy both. They were both from 2007 and selling at really

good prices. Had we bought both it would have been the coup of a lifetime. It was the Wiley piece that we bought, though, that really opened my eyes to art in a whole new way. Every time I had a bad day, I would look up at it and my day would instantly get better. Suddenly things weren’t so bad. It was that moment that art went from filling a space on my walls to adding to life spiritually and emotionally.

ARTWORK: COURTESY OF NOTOYA GREEN

How did you begin to build your own collection? Notoya Green: Our collection really evolved over time. In the beginning, we just bought pieces we thought were going to look good in our home. We kept it simple. We bought mostly contemporary art and I was particularly drawn to pieces that were fun and colorful. Then we started to focus more on the names of the artists and tried to get those pieces we thought would either hold their value or appreciate over time. Then we switched up again and decided to focus on Black artists. Now it’s a combination of all the above. But the thing that I focus on most is whether I truly love the piece. Before buying, I ask myself if I am attracted to its beauty. Do I like the colors? Does it make me happy? Am I inspired by it and can I see myself looking at it every day? What was the first piece you purchased? The first piece we purchased came

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April Gornik—a Pillar of the Sag Harbor Community—On Her Beloved Hamptons Town presents

BLAIR BORTHWICK SOLO SHOW The Way You Embrace The Stars And The Moon

June 24 - July 31 Matriark 133 Main Street, Sag Harbor NY 11963 Phone +1.631.919.5577 www.matriark.com

Pale Pink Moon Oil on canvas 30” x 40"

Permission to Bloom Oil on wood panel 18” x 24”

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In 2018, the artist couple April Gornik and Eric Fischl purchased a white clapboard church in Sag Harbor, the Hamptons town in which they’ve lived for over 30 years. They spent the ensuing years renovating the space—now simply known as The Church—and in 2021, it opened to the public as a nonproﬁt community arts center. Dedicating her time and resources to cultivating a space for community is perfectly in sync with Gornik’s values, and for this special edition, she spoke to Cultured about what she cherishes within the town she calls home.

BY TALI JAFFE MINOR Can you paint a picture for us of the Sag Harbor you first encountered 30 years ago? Sag Harbor was so much quieter: the Paradise Diner-style restaurant still existed; McMansions hadn’t happened with their cookie-cutter, fake-Federalist endlessly-repeated style; the tomato lady on Main Street still sold tomatoes. But we still have parades and the Sag Harbor Community Band still plays (and is excellent!). Thank God for Lisa Field, the 5 & 10 and the Wharf Shop. We have the great John Jermain Library and the Whaling Museum and Historical Society, and there are people here who care passionately about it not becoming wrecked by overdevelopment. Oh, and the Ragamuffin Parade on Halloween! And Murf’s. You and your husband have made so many contributions to the cultural landscape. What are you most proud of? I’m very proud of the Cinema being bought and rebuilt, which was about a five-year process and a huge team effort. Though I was the campaign chair, believe me, it was a lot of help from a lot of spectacular people; really our whole community if you take a look at its “Community Wall.” Everybody rose up after the fire to help—although negotiations to buy it began almost six months before the fire. But, I’m no less proud of The Church, and it’s really becoming something that Eric and I had envisioned: a place for the arts, discovery, education, joy and community. I’ve been told by many people that it helped get them through the pandemic and all the recent darkness America has experienced. The Church has been open for a little more than a year now. So far, has it met your expectations? Absolutely! But we also have a ways to go. I want to bring education opportunities for more people of all

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ages, and hope to engage schools and make them feel welcome to bring kids for tours and engagement. We are sorely lacking programs for Spanish-speaking members of our community, and we need to make the website welcoming for them. We had a terrific first year, but we can do even better! And the building itself has actually dictated a lot of what and how we’re doing. We didn’t know it had great acoustics from it all being stripped down by previous owners. It’s a wonderful and intimate venue for music and dance in a way we hadn’t anticipated. It inherited great vibes from everything that came before us, from it being a church to hosting AA meetings to the Sag Harbor Rainbow Preschool. The Church lends itself to wonder and calm and focus. So many of the people we’ve interviewed for this magazine—from artists to designers to people outside the creative space—have listed a visit to The Church on their summer agenda. Do you get the sense of the impact you’re having with this space? It seems to be the beacon you set out for! What a great thought! I sure hope so. It’s hard to step outside the stewardship and imagine how people feel when they experience something there, but since most people come back again and again, I think it’s starting to feel not only like a beacon but also an anchor, and a safe space to learn and grow and celebrate our community. We want to shore up our history and the people who’ve made Sag Harbor and the East End the best of what it is, and we’ve only scratched the surface so far. Which new cultural spaces—galleries, gardens, shops, halls, foundations—are you most excited about? Well, Duck Creek is certainly doing great things, and is still in its infancy, and I look forward to seeing how Guild Hall resolves its renovation—they do wonderful programming. The local

gallery scene is burgeoning, and I look forward to croissants from Carissa’s in Sag Harbor—such a great local success story. I’m grateful that a small brewery is going into the former garden center RR building instead of some fancy clothing company. I guess those last two are food culture, not culture-culture! But it all goes into the makeup of a place. Who else do you feel is really moving the dial in the right direction for the greater creative community? We’re hanging on to our character, thanks to our active community and to landlords that care too, who don’t want it to become corporatized and/or glitzy. Hopefully village and town officials will keep being supportive of the creative community in the right proportion to our year-round population and the great, livable sense of scale you feel here in Sag. But anybody who cares makes a difference! So anyone who supports all I’ve described is moving the dial too in a very real way, from voting to buying locally to supporting all the great venues out here. Above: April Gornik.

Project 1: Summer issue of Cultured Creative deadline: May 31 Image: Paula to select from Summer Lookbook Copy: Just INTERMIX Logo and website URL JOhana Dimensions (Full Page) Live Area: 9.125” x 11.5” Trim: 9.625” x 12” Bleed: 9.875 x 12.25 Bleed Size: .125”

Project 2: Hamptons Edition of Cultured Creative deadline: June 3 Image: Paula to select from Summer Lookbook Copy: INTERMIX Logo, list the two hamptons store addresses white pants Example of store listing (attached from Bal Harbour) INTERMIX EAST HAMPTON 87 Main Street 631-907-8025 INTERMIX SOUTHAMPTON 64 Main Street 631-283-8510

Dimensions (Full Page) Live Area: 10.625” x 13.625” Trim: 11’ x 14’

INTERMIX EAST HAMPTON 87 Main Street 631-907-8025

INTERMIX SOUTHAMPTON 64 Main Street 631-283-8510

Turning the Tide Patricia Assui Reed has made a career elevating women. Her Sag Harbor store, Matriark, exclusively represents brands by women-owned businesses, including Athena Newton, Daphne Verley and Muzungu Sisters. Ahead of the debut of her summer exhibition by local artist Blair Borthwick, we caught up with Reed to discuss.

You’re very transparent in your mission to exclusively champion women-owned businesses. Have you seen any progress since you launched Matriark in 2019? I think our mission is even more important now. Sadly, women lost a lot of ground since the pandemic started. Many had to give up their jobs and companies to care

Retail Therapy

for their families. Violence against women increased, and now Roe v. Wade is threatened. We will continue to champion women-owned businesses while also going beyond that: I want to make sure Matriark is a platform that supports people who are oppressed by the patriarchy, and that includes women and all LGBTQI+ people as well. When did you develop the Matriark Club and what is its primary purpose? I started thinking about that in 2019, right after I opened our shop. People would come to me and ask me if we were doing any gatherings, or having any events to have fun, network, learn and get inspired. Because of our mission, our customers and people who support us are very engaged with us, and I wanted to offer life enhancing events that went beyond shopping.

Join Jason Amis for weekly Forest Bathing at LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton.

Beyond the Garden Tour

Matriark founder Patricia Assui Reed.

The primary purpose of the Matriark Club is to get people (all genders) together to have fun, learn, meet friends and get inspired while featuring and supporting women and anyone who feels

oppressed by the patriarchy. This is where our community can really get together and connect in a real and authentic way. —Tali Jaffe Minor

BRIDGEHAMPTON On the first weekend in July, head to Topping Rose House where Fisch swimwear pops up to share their regenerative suits made from fishing nets and ocean trash. A Wild Dove is set to bring brands such as Rick Owens, Comme des Garçons and R13 to local polo matches on July 23 and July 30.

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EAST HAMPTON Chanel has landed. It’s quintessential Hamptons— gray shingles and sumptuous gardens—with a French twist. The ground floor offers fashion and accessories from the Coco Beach, Spring/ Summer and Metiers d’Art collections, while the second floor is reserved for private appointments. Valentino opens on Main Street just in time to showcase summer’s must-have colorful Escape tote bags and crocheted accessories. Alison Lou is reopening for the season with her new, groovy selection of playful jewelry. For one weekend only in late July, the Joanna Buchanan pop-up shop in the Barn at East Hampton Gardens will sell all the necessities for a perfect summer party, from crochet placemats to dinnerware.

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Given its scenic setting between the ocean and acres of farmland, it’s hardly a revelation to say that the Hamptons invites lingering outdoors. Here are a few ways to soak up that Vitamin D. East Hampton’s LongHouse Reserve may be best known for it expansive sculpture garden, but on Sunday mornings those in the know settle in for a different kind of quiet contemplation. Join the weekly Forest Bathing sessions with Jason Amis who leads students on a gentle and contemplative walk through the scenic bamboo forest. At Madoo Conservancy, the scenic Sagaponack garden, children can sprawl out in the grass for a most bucolic storytime on Mondays at 10 am. Be sure to bring a blanket, and maybe pack a picnic with provisions from the nearby Marilee’s Farmstand.

A constellation of new stores are dotting the landscape this summer. Some ephemeral, some for the long haul. Here, a selection a few shops to add to your Main Street stroll.

AMAGANSETT Catch the latest from cult fave Dôen at Clare V. on Main Street through July 11. There, you can also pick up summer linens and other handmade homegoods by Heather Taylor Home from July 15 to 24. Sunshine Amagansett opened on Main Street with a roster of brands that support positive change, including SunChild by Elissa Kravetz, DUTZI by Ariane Dutzi and The Royal Native by Hilary deRoy.

PATRICIA ASSUI REED: PHOTO BY TANYA MALOTT; GARDEN, CHANEL AND MARNI: COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE BRANDS; TASCHEN: DON FREEMAN

Brilliant brand name! Can you share that moment when it gelled for you? I thought of many names before, but they all seemed very reductive. Then I kept thinking what would happen if the world was led by women, and naturally matriarchal societies came to mind. From there, it was a quick jump to our current name. I was inspired by the power of female energy and the positive impact it can have on the world around us.

Duck Creek Arts, an 18th-century homestead in East Hampton turned historic site, hosts a series of music events throughout the summer. The diverse lineup this year includes concerts by prominent saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and folk singer Miriam Elhajli.

Through September, Homenature on Main Street will host the Tina Frey Summer Store centering around Frey’s modern resin tableware and accessories. Through September 5, Dolce & Gabbana feathers a nest at EHP Resort and Marina offering exclusive pieces inspired by its Blu Mediterraneo collection. Taschen lands in East

Hampton for a while, bringing with it a shop brimming with art books, collectible editions and a program of artist talks, book signings and launch events. SHELTER ISLAND The Marni pop-up shop will return to the Sunset Beach Hotel through September 15. Look out for limited-edition design objects, sculptures and an array of accessories.

Was there even a rosé before Wölffer? Of course there was, but this one has stood the test of time, and anyone who’s sipped its crisp pink juice knows why. Join one of the family-friendly soirees at the Sagaponack Wölffer Wine Estate on Friday and Saturday afternoons with live music. Bring a blanket to spread on the lawn and relax with small bites and a glass of crisp rosé or bottle of chilled cider. Music starts at 4 pm and continues until sunset. —Shivani Vora

WÖLFFER BRINGS YOU A TASTE OF PROVENCE

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Sheree Hovsepian in her East Village studio in New York City.

STRING THEORY

After wrapping up her latest suite of works for an upcoming solo show at Rachel Uffner Gallery in New York, artist Sheree Hovsepian settles into summer in Bridgehampton. BY GABRIELLE OCTAVIA RUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEVI WALTON

FOLLOWING HER DEBUT at the Venice Biennale this past spring, Iranian-born American multimedia artist Sheree Hovsepian is busy at work on her upcoming solo show opening at Rachel Uffner Gallery in New York in September. Thematically similar to the work Hovsepian created for the Biennale, her latest pieces integrate photography, natural materials, ceramics and her keen and poetic sense of geometry and totemic architecture. “With these newer works, I’m abstracting the body and trying to finish

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it with these forms that are handmade, that are not indexical sort of shapes,” she says. “They’re just kind of a personal shape that I’ve taken on from an act of drawing. A lot of this idea is rooted in locating myself within a certain amount of time, space and place. I’m an immigrant, and so this act of inserting, or placing or giving myself a surrounding is a way of recording a trace of my physicality.” When looking at Hovsepian’s work, there is a sense that one has entered

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a tunnel of mirrors or have been handed an unfamiliar map. There is an opacity to her art, a coy abstraction of intimacy that proves itself as enticing as it is labyrinthine. What one can name within her images is skewed: an arm, a hip, a string of thread, a handmade ceramic pillar, a smiling semi-circle of walnut wood—their meanings render the longer one engages. Hovsepian’s cartographic process of locating, crafting and fixing objects and images into shared space extends to

the materials incorporated. Materially, she makes both intuitive and practical decisions. “A lot of the objects that you find in the photograph that are not the body are things that were just laying around in my studio,” she admits. Other materials even hint at some of Hovsepian’s personal experiences—like the use of string or thread and its associations to various (and often gendered) forms of hand work, string art or embroidery—things that she used to do with her mother growing up.

“The act of actually tying the string and deciding where to put it was a very meditative and calming process,” Hovsepian explains. “I also liked that it became a line. It became a way to draw and it was tentative. If I didn’t like it, I could redo it.” In general, things tend to slow down when Hovsepian steps out of the city as most of the equipment she uses is too cumbersome to travel with. While in the Hamptons, she has time to rest and entertain. Sometimes, she strolls the

local galleries. She reads photography books and theory by Hélène Cixous, Sylvia Wynter, Clarice Lispector, Hagi Kenaan and Sarah Ahmed, a hobby that directly influences and contextualizes her art—many of her works’ titles come from her readings. And she hones her ceramics practice, taking classes at a local studio. “I’ve been really drawn to ceramics,” she says with a gentle smile. “I like the idea of my body having a direct impact on something I’ve made.

Ceramics actually has a lot in common with photography: they both take an impression, they both go through a chemical process, and then there’s a threat of failure also. It kind of has its own agenda.” For Hovsepian, the thrill is in its newness, and the constant learning the medium encourages. “I like working with materials that I don’t have a lot of historical knowledge about,” she explains. “That way I don’t have so many preconceived ideas of what can and can’t be done.”

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Day Trip Public arts leader and summertime North Fork resident Yvonne Force Villareal gives us a glimpse into the not-so-sleepy stretch of Long Island with a growing community of artists and creatives. BY YVONNE FORCE VILLAREAL

Art Shows: Summer 2022 Ida Kohlmeyer, Paintings Nadia Yaron, Sculptures Liz Collins, Textile Works

My North Fork life began in 2005 and I have lived bayside in Orient Village ever since. Driving through picturesque vineyards, farms and past the seascape vistas helps set the tone for the low-key lifestyle I love settling into with family and friends. When I’m off, my typical summer day consists of watching my kids sail—my alter ego is sailing mom— enjoying a cruise on our boat, “BADDIE,” practicing yoga and shopping at my favorite locally-owned vintage stores and food markets. Finally, just before the magnificent sunset, I create a tablescape (my new hobby) in front of our dock while my artist husband, Leo Villareal, whips up a farm-to-table feast for our nearest and dearest to enjoy. Here are a few of my favorites from Greenport to Orient. Claire Copersino is the founder and gifted teacher at North Fork Yoga Shala. She hosts magical practices that rove into different NoFo spaces, including the waterfront Shanti Shack at The Port of Egypt Marina. Latham Farms was established circa 1809 and is one of the oldest and largest independently-run family farms on Long Island. Located in the quintessential seaside village of Orient, nestled between the Long Island Sound and Gardiners Bay, the salt-air atmosphere combined with the irresistible native produce and fresh flowers make it my favorite farmstand.

Beall & Bell is my favorite shop to scope out high quality vintage furniture located in a spacious former Masonic Temple in Greenport. Southold Fish Market has the freshest fish. Not to be missed is the ready-togo shrimp cocktail as well as the most delicious smoked fish. It’s a true gem on the North Shore. Head to Opties and Dinghies in Orient for the most scrumptious handmade dumpling and crepes anywhere! The Oysterponds Historical Society (OHS) was founded in 1944 to preserve and maintain historically-significant buildings in the heart of Orient’s landmark district. It also maintains more than eight acres of grounds, including Poquatuck Park, which is a cherished community gathering spot. Their collection is expansive, with more than 60,000 artifacts, documents, diaries, artwork and archival objects dating from early Native American times all the way through the 20th century. OHS offers myriad compelling exhibitions and three of the historic buildings are open to the public during the summer months.

Kontokosta Winery offers guests the opportunity to sample award-winning, hand-crafted wines in the maritime climate from which they were created. The vineyard is family owned and their involvement allows them to sustainably shepherd the vines to guarantee consistent fruit quality and ripeness from vintage to vintage.

200 N. Sea Road, Southampton, NY 11968

Black Llama Bar is a clandestine cocktail and oyster bar located at American Beech, a new hotel that’s quickly become a hotspot in Greenport.

Yvonne Force Villareal.

collectiveartdesign.com tel (631) 353-3445

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PEEKING THROUGH THE THRESHOLD At the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, six female artists—Leilah Babirye, Torkwase Dyson, February James, Karyn Olivier, Kameelah Janan Rasheed and Kennedy Yanko—invite viewers to experience their worlds, through works that act as monuments to their practices and personal spatiality. Curated by Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont, “Set It Off” navigates the ways that place affects identity, in an art setting known for its own architectural specificity. BY HANNAH BLACK CULTURED HAMPTONS ISSUE

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“Set It Off” “Set co-curators It Off” co-curators Racquel Chevremont Racquel Chevremont (left) and Mickalene (left) and Mickalene Thomas.

PHOTO BY JON JENKINS

Kennedy Yanko, Landscape 1, 2022, on display in the garden at the Parrish Art Museum.

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Clockwise from above: Karyn Olivier, How Many Ways Can you Disappear, 2021; Leilah Babirye, Tuli Mukwano (We Are in Love), 2018; Februray James, These Are My Ghosts to Sit With, 2022; Torkwase Dyson, Liquidity, Expanse, 2020; Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Primitive Hypertext II, 2022.

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WORK IMAGES: PHOTO BY DAVID BENTHAL/BFA

n the light-filled, barn-inspired environment of the Herzog and de Meuron-designed Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, the group show “Set It Off” presents artists who “engage the monumental, the site specific and/or the immersive.” This trio of concerns could be taken as summarizing the practice of architecture—monument, place, surround—and the work produces, within a distinctive and well-known building, its own relations of space. Across four rooms and outdoor space, the show’s attention to each of its moments resembles a series of solo and two-person exhibits. But as a whole, it builds into a narrative that considers the experience of being situated in a body, a family and a world. Torkwase Dyson gives a restrained account of place, expressed through formal geometrics and a subtle concern with the built environment. Her non-Euclidian studies play with different thicknesses of paint. “What new thing is there to say about the monochrome?” the paintings initially seem to ask, approaching the question from multiple black angles on the same canvas. Overlapping rectangles and slivers of white quasi-diacritic marks suggest all the ways a surface can be aware of its edge, like the way a person in a room might be always half-consciously aware of where the door is, and how to get there. Accordingly, some of the canvases acquire architectural dimension. They are like plans or renders of future and past buildings, though they sublimate this suggestion of habitation into deep slicks of glossy black paint. In The Horizon 01 (2017) and The Horizon 02 (2017), the paintings’ awareness of space reaches beyond the rooms and to the wide outside, somewhat like the tall windows built into the gallery’s walls reveal the surrounding landscape, green-gray and whipped by occasional rain on the day I visited. Dyson’s paintings deepen the more you look at them while across the room, Kameelah Janan Rasheed’s work also asks for long consideration to allow torn-apart fragments of language to cohere into new meaning. Perhaps in this body of work the show’s claim to the consideration of the spatial has to reach the furthest, but space here is formulated as a function of language. The diacritic—a

ghostly presence in Dyson’s work—is one way to think about the role of the different elements in Rasheed’s wall-based installation, which presents a numbered progression from silent video to deconstructed painting. The repeated phrase “I am not done yet” stenciled on the wall suggests a language with its own temporality, reformulating itself through the avatars of bodies and gestures. The silent mouth in the video enunciates something urgent and impossible; its loop is never heard and never done. The water-logged saturation of paint on overlapping fragments of paper is quite different from Dyson’s layered blacks but also evokes a navigable space. The use of pigment runs the gamut from typographic language to mute smears and drips: everything that can be done to attempt communication, though with uncertain results. Similarly, the video mouth’s teeth and tongue, multiply rendered, suggest the curious overlap of concrete and abstract, flesh and phoneme from which language is produced. In another room, flesh is under threat where the work of Kennedy Yanko and Karyn Olivier face off and reflect upon each other. In Yanko’s monuments to the antimonumental, industrial components are crumpled, distorted and then embraced by paint skin, whose soft surface reveals less of whatever catastrophe threw them together. This is an apocalyptic aesthetics of impact whose embrace conveys the tenderness of aftermath. Suspended off the ground, the sculptures draw attention both to their materials’ weight and their unexpected lightness, vulnerability rendered ultra-concrete. In Olivier’s work there’s also an ambivalence between embrace and threat. An asphalt substance customarily used as tar roofing engulfs or cocoons photographs of unprepossessing fragments of urban assemblages: corners of buildings with walkways on which tiny figures slouch on benches, a felled tree surrounded by drab houses, stacks of bricks with apparently discarded clothes. These images may have private significance, or they could just as easily mean nothing, but now, clasped in tar, these vignettes suggest convergences between accident and intention; tricks of sentiment, light or perception, and fleeting senses of home. In the middle of the gallery, How Many Ways Can You Disappear (2021) is a pile of ropes, traps and buoys. With tarred photographs all around me, I thought about the artist as a fisher of moments, sunk in an anonymous urban ocean. But on reading about the work, I discover that Olivier herself had cast her mind further back, thinking of the sea salt traded for slaves in Ancient

spirits perform as themselves. A wall is lined with expressive, exhausted faces in black and white, tiny canvases with thick impasto blobs of flower-like fruit. Paintings of women hang on other walls like icons of the Virgin Mary. A large-scale portrait emphasizes James’s attention to the gaze: there are yellow-tinted eyes in exaggerated closeup, imperfectly coiffed eyebrows, and a third eye lurks like an afterthought beneath a layer of paint on the brow. More icons by James: ten striking works on paper present faces in which layers of watercolor and ink create create remarkably precisely conveyed expressions and provide the distinct contours of personality. These faces, never seen before, are deeply familiar. The room is a place for them all to hang out. The furniture seems to have grown pigmented mold, like dried ectoplasm. There’s a yellow paneled armoire with a woman haloed in its center, and an unoccupied table and two chairs at which invisible ghosts are sitting on either side of a jaunty vase of fake flowers. Whether it’s a room, a city, a nation or a language, the self—as the deeply personal works in “Set It Off” suggest—is always inflected by its location. The task is to find ways in and out.

Greece. Like the juxtapositions in the photographs, both strange and mundane, trade and domination produce surreal equivalences that structure everyday life. These two pairings—Dyson and Rasheed; Yanko and Olivier—are where the thoughtful curation by Racquel Chevremont and Mickalene Thomas (Deux Femmes Noires) is most evident: the works’ placement discovers assonances that refract through each. Artists February James and Leilah Babirye are allotted a whole room each, where the tempo of the exhibition slows. Babirye’s sculptures are complex pairings in themselves. They draw together the aesthetic traditions of Kampala, Uganda, where she was born and grew up, and debris found in her current home of New York City; they unify the experience of being African and the experience of being gay; they combine traditional sculptural techniques with modern materials suggesting different forms of technical mediation. Wooden figures are enmeshed with flattened soft drink cans, wires, bike chains, clamps and bolts. James’s paintings and sculptures teem with people: visible and invisible, self and other, alive and dead. The body of work titled These Are My Ghosts To Sit With resembles a theatrical set in which

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Right: Painter Elizabeth Peyton and Aubrey Mayer sailing off the coast of Orient, New York.

THE FORK in the ROAD Aubrey Mayer met Elizabeth Peyton at 19 years old in Orient, New York. He traded sailing lessons off the North Fork in exchange for a portrait sitting. Peyton then introduce Mayer to Artist Space curator Matthew Higgs and the rest is history. Mayer became the de facto town historian for artists that made their way to the Long Island Sound each summer. Here, Mayer shares a collection of unpublished images from that era of sunshine.

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Clockwise from top left: Photographer Richard Kern and painter Ryan Sullivan sail with a friend; A beachside swingset; The inimitable Rashid Johnson.

Above from left: Agathe Snow and T.J. Wilcox.

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Above: Three painters: Joel Mesler, Jacqueline Humphries and Laura Owens.

Right: Artist Rob Pruitt in his Greenport studio with a sculpture; Pruitt’s romantic partner and sometimes collaborator, Jonathan Horowitz, stares into camera.

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SCIENCE-BACKED SKINCARE FOR

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BY JARRETT EARNEST

In a new book, Matthew Leifheit channels a lineage of queer photography on Fire Island.

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Photo by Matthew Leifheit from To Die Alive, published by Damiani, 2022.

I texted Matthew Leifheit for confirmation: “Are PaJaMa the first fags to make a ‘thing’ out of photographing their friends on Fire Island?” Matt is one of those artists who’ve done deep-dive research into the collaborative made up of lovers Paul Cadmus and Jared French, and his wife Margaret Hoening French, each lending the first two letters of their first names to form the silly sobriquet. Starting in the late 1930s the three photographed each other against the shrunken trees and low beach horizon to create a unique brand of sun-bleached surrealism. Their famous friends are ever present, including the photographer George Platt Lynes and American polymath Lincoln Kirstein, who was married to Cadmus’s sister Fidelma Cadmus Kirstein, an artist herself and glorious leading lady. They

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are each young, athletic and exceedingly photogenic. The images crystalize a myth of the place, where pretty white queers play out amorphous psychodynamics on the barrier island two hours southeast from Manhattan. “I think that’s totally fair to say.” Matt texted back, continuing, “There were theater people in Ocean Beach in the 1920s, but if there was any kind of photographic culture around that I have not seen it. Whatever snapshots existed in Cherry Grove when it stated getting gay in the early 30s would have been heavily coded.” Matt has been photographing summers on Fire Island for the past few years, publishing them now as Matthew Leifheit: To Die Alive (Damiani, 2022). There are none of the sunny beach or pool pictures that define the “Fire

Island” genre (Let’s say it together: TOM BIANCHI!), but instead they all unfold at night, with strange, low, artificial lights. Erotically overheated tableaux within in architecture built for looking— into mirrors, through windows, down from balconies, between dunes—the result is a gay Eyes Wide Shut. Twinks lounge in chintz-drenched bedrooms, attended by other naked men, staring at them or at something else. Spot-lit daddies writhe amongst the gnarled trees of the Meat Rack. The subjects are diverse, in terms of age and race, intertwining lithe and smooth with leathery and paunchy. There is also a feeling that these people are mostly strangers, from each other and the photographer. It is a fucked up book, but tenderly so; the full body chills after a sunburn.