Looking for art in The Hamptons? Read on to discover three art shows that shouldn't be missed in The Hamptons. In this edition, expect a not-to-miss solo show by Tony Oursler, text art revealing facets of gay male life and the chance to transport to cool mountaintops without a challenging climb. Exhibitions can be found in Sag Harbor, Water Mill and East Hampton, NY.
1. "Tony Oursler: Water Memory" at Guild Hall
June 8 to July 21, 2019
Make sure the solo show of video pioneer Tony Oursler is on your list of art shows to see in July 2019. It's a knockout that's sure to take your breath away.
Spectacle is to be expected when Tony Oursler creates art. This is true whether his work manifests in a site specific installation or conceptual exhibitions as seen in recent years in New York at MoMA in "Tony Oursler: Imponderable" (June 18, 2016-April 16, 2017) or his more recent projected installation Tear of the Cloud on the 69th Street Transfer Bridge Gantry for the Public Art Fund (October 2018).
This is true in Oursler's solo show at Guild Hall. "Tony Oursler: Water Memory" is set across the entire museum and adopts three distinct environments. In the Woodhouse Gallery, located to the right upon entering the museum, is given over to an installation of projected faces that appear part of groupings of talking stones drenched in rich colors of pink, blue, green, purple and white.
In the Moran Gallery, located to the left upon entering the lobby, is a more tradition exhibition presentation featuring figurative sculptural works complimenting art installed on walls that feature subtle video loops within static colorful patterns that are so vibrant they resemble stained glass. Set in the adjacent gallery is the highlight of the show: Phase/Trans, 2019. The artwork represents a new medium for Oursler—projection on mist. Around 18 years in the making, the process is unveiled at Guild Hall museum. The piece includes recorded spoken word with a running time of about 30 minutes so plan to stay awhile.
Among all the works on view (as well as in a zine written by Oursler), water serves as the medium for an exploration of belief systems and the mystical and the predilections of human nature including the mythology of sea monsters, evil spirits and other manifestations. The exhibition was curated by Christina Strassfield.
Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street, East Hampton, NY 11937.
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"EntroP" and "Crypto B" by Tony Oursler, both 2019. Acrylic, resin, steel, blown glass, with sound and the voices of multiple performers as installed at Guild Hall. Photo by Pat Rogers.
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2. "Boyz Keep Swinging" at Keyes Fine Art
June 22 - July 14, 2019
Heading into its final weekend, this text-based group show should be at the top of the art viewing list. Curated by artist and curator Maynard Morrow—whose own art is the subject of a two-person show opening this weekend at Fireplace Project in East Hampton, NY--it's not a common sight in the East End gallery scene to find an entire exhibition devoted to text-driven art. Rarity aside, "Boyz Keep Swinging" offers snippets of moments that are part of male gay life that run the gambit from recent to decades ago. It's a fun show and one that is bound to entertain and make you think.
The exhibition's title is taken from David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" (and the 1979 music video which challenged gender privilege) with "Boyz Keep Swinging" curated to emulate summer queer culture and its carefree spirit in The Hamptons, explained Morrow. Coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in NYC, which launched the Gay Rights Movement, the curation celebrates the freedom that becomes possible when acceptance and openness is the norm and seems to reveal moments actually experience as well as a mediation on life lived Queer.
From an art perspective, the show includes master artists such as Rene Ricard, Jack Pierson, McDermott & McGough and others whose works are curated along side younger and emerging artists. The effect is seamless and conceptually draws a continuum between pioneers of the early days of the Gay Movement to younger artists and the experiences that serve as muse for their art. Click here to read more about the exhibition.
For an extra surprise, look behind the material cloaking an artwork suspended behind the gallery desk. Made by Ricci Albenda, it's bound to draw a laugh.
Keyes Art is located at 53 Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY 11963 (Adjacent to The American Hotel).
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Top left: "Tea Room Trade" by Dean Sameshima, 2013. Silkscreen on canvas, 15.75 x 11.5 inches. Bottom left: "Sexual Outlaw" by Dean Sameshima, 2012. Edition 55, Silkscreen on canvas 11.5 x 15.75. Right: "but you love me, you said so" by Rene Ricard, 2011. Archival inkjet on paper, 20 x 25 inches. Signed en verso. Photo: Pat Rogers.
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3. "Renate Aller: The Space Between Memory and Expectation"
March 24 - July 28, 2019
Need a breath of cool air? Standing surrounded by Renate Aller's monumental photography of snowy mountaintops, curvy crests of pale sands and outstretched ocean is bound to offer relief from the summer heat. Walking into the gallery where Aller's solo show is installed, the air feels cooler as if a switch was pushed to make it so.
"Renate Aller: The Space Between Memory and Expectation" can be found at the Parrish Art Museum as part of a trio of solo photography shows exploring the way landscapes invoke a sense of place. Aller's exhibition is stunning. The majesty and wonder of these natural regions are rendered in a sheer scale that conjures the sensation of being there but doesn't skimp on minute details.
Going hand in hand with the selection of the 12 artworks on view is the installation. Pulled from two different and ongoing series—"Ocean | Desert" and "Mountain Interval"—the works create a steady horizon line throughout. The linking of landscapes that may or may not be connected but are tied together with an implied line invokes the sensation of experiencing the landscapes themselves instead of viewing them from afar as a spectator. Clearly an avid traveler, the images depict mountain ranges in Alaska, Switzerland, Italy and Nepal, along with sand dunes in New Mexico and Colorado, and the Atlantic Ocean.
For Aller, her photographs represent the moment where stillness and transition meet. She captures this beautifully and the hush that falls over the viewer when looking at the art is all the proof needed that success is achieved.
Parrish Art Museum is located at 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY 11976. www.parrishart.org.
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Installation of "Renate Aller: The Space Between Memory and Expectation" at the Parrish Art Museum. Photo by Renate Aller. Courtesy Parrish Art Museum.
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Looking for more art on view? Visit our Art Guide by clicking here. For gallery events this weekend, click here.
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