In the coming season, LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton’s 16-acre sculpture garden and nature reserve, will display new works of art including two large scale sculptures by Maren Hassinger and three by Wyatt Kahn, plus a special exhibition curated by Glenn Adamson and designed by Colin King. Popular permanent collection pieces by Buckminster Fuller, Sol Lewitt, Yoko Ono, Toshiko Takaezu, and many others remain on view, along with the renewed loan of sculptures from Cheng Tsung Feng and William and Steven Ladd.
As is its longtime tradition, the LongHouse Reserve season opens with the Rites of Spring celebration on April 1, with nearly one million daffodils and rare bulb plants in bloom. Refreshments will be served, and families are invited to weave branches from the garden with Maren Hassinger to create her site-specific Monuments, or join in a fabric puppet making workshop with Kim Profaci. Wyatt Kahn’s three sculptures — “Parade,” “Painting the Painter,” “Umbrella” — most recently on view in City Hall Park, come to LongHouse in a new partnership with the Public Art Fund. Two sculptures from the same collection, “Life in the Abstract,” will be on view at Art Basel, Switzerland.
2023 marks changes in the management of Longhouse. Carrie Rebora Barratt, PhD becomes the permanent Director, a natural evolution from her previous role as Interim Director, and Glenn Adamson, PhD becomes Curator-at-Large.
Dr. Adamson will present an exhibition of contemporary makers’ work alongside masterpieces collected by Jack Lenor Larsen. Entitled “Then and Now/Object & Thing,” the exhibition is designed by stylist Colin King, opens on Memorial Day Weekend and remains on view through the summer.
Esperanza Leon joins LongHouse as Head of Education and Community Engagement. Leon’s past experience includes Guild Hall, The Victor D’Amico Institute of Art, El Museo Del Barrio, and Director of Fundación Teatro Ateneo de Maracay in Venezuela.
After 15 years as Board President and more recently Co President, Dianne Benson will move to President Emerita status, while also becoming Chair of the Arts Committee.
“I have cherished LongHouse since 2000, when Jack invited me to join his Trustees and have been proud of my contributions to LongHouse as it has grown in stature here and around the world. I am confident that LongHouse will prosper and have complete trust in our new leadership which has renewed my excitement for our future,” said Benson.
Board President Nina Gillman spoke for the board saying, “Dianne has been our tireless leader for 15 years. Her friendship with Jack and dedication to the high standards and style of LongHouse are irreplaceable. Dianne continues to be a champion of art and nature both at LongHouse and in East Hampton generally.”
The Board of LongHouse has welcomed six new members within the last six months, including Linda Willett as Treasurer, Anne Erni, who will head the People and Practices committee, as well as Ahmed Akkad, Louis Bradbury, Emma Clurman, and Gael Towey. They join Deborah Nevins (Vice President), James Zajac (Secretary), Sherri Donghia, Dr. Derick George, Mark Levine, Alexandra Munroe, Peter Olsen, and Suzanne Slesin.
Dr. Barratt shared, “LongHouse has made a nature-based pledge to its plants and people; a commitment to earth equity in partnership with Edwina von Gal’s Perfect Earth Project, aimed at removing all chemicals from the garden to create a healthy, resilient, and sustainable landscape. Our grounds are now chemical free!” The renowned landscape designer, Deborah Nevins, is now chair of the LongHouse Reserve Garden Committee.
Jack Lenor Larsen’s house will receive full revitalization as it changes from private to public. Architect Lee H. Skolnick believes “If we’ve done our job correctly, it will seem as if nothing has changed, remaining as mysterious and wondrous as one’s first visit.”
Before his passing, Larsen decided that “When the house is no longer a residence, it will be available to visitors. Then the whole house will be a museum full of broad collections of modern furnishings that we can all learn from — and that can buoy our own individuality.”
For Jack’s 100th birthday in 2027, LongHouse hopes to accomplish these renovations and display Jack’s collection.
2023 programs encompassing design, music, and dance also include LongHouse Reserve’s Summer Benefit, this year themed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on July 22; a recital under the stars with pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner planned again for Jack Lenor Larsen’s birthday on August 5; a Puppet Show by Kim Profaci on August 13, Hamptons Music Festival from August 19 to 20; Opera al Fresco on September 3; and the Landscape Luncheon on September 10.
LongHouse Reserve is open five days a week from opening through December. LongHouse management has formalized its first Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Plan, applying it to all programs and practices. LongHouse Reserve has expanded its entry policy to include reduced admission for persons with disabilities and their caregivers. LongHouse joined Museums for All, offering admission for only $2 to those receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits). The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named LongHouse Reserve to their Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program. LongHouse is an active member of Hamptons Arts Network, the East Hampton Cultural Network, as well as the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons.