Luminosity: Celebrating Art, Nature, & Community At LongHouse’s Annual Benefit

“Tonight is our most successful benefit ever!” said Louis Bradbury, LongHouse Reserve Board President, “We’re grateful for our co-chairs Gael Towey and Raisa Lopez-Rhoden, for their incredible leadership in bringing tonight to life.”

For the evening, themed “Luminosity,” the 16-acre sculpture garden and nature sanctuary in East Hampton lit up with vibrant colors, live music, community love, and lots of laughter. “With 100% board participation, our benefit sold out before invitations were ever sent!” continued Bradbury, “How many of you have come to LongHouse more than once in a year? Have you seen the four seasons here? Daffodils, cherry blossoms, and azaleas in Spring; lush green of Summer; brilliant Autumn leaves, and spectacular snowdrops and witch hazel in Winter. Tonight, we come together in gratitude for all of it.”

“We may be tonight’s honorees, but we’re really here to celebrate LongHouse”, said Charles Brock, who was honored alongside his wife Mary Jane Brock. She continued, “Mother Nature and Jack Lenor Larson (LongHouse Founder) gave us this masterpiece of a place, so let’s all do what we can to be sure it continues to flourish!”

Also honored was artist Vija Celmins, who was described by Richard Armstrong (Director Emeritus, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation) as “relentless in her pursuit of accuracy. Often, that pursuit results in perfection. Her close observation of the ocean and her meticulous rendering of it strike me as portraits of infinity.”

“We are excited that LongHouse will soon be ready to open Jack’s house to the public!” announced Carrie Rebora Barratt, LongHouse Director. “Thanks to the support of the Town of East Hampton, which voted to give LongHouse $170,000 for repairs, and to a group of our trustees who have matched that number, creating the start of a capital campaign to continue this work.” Guests saw a sneak peek of what’s to come for the house in a video by Gael Towey. “Paul Goldberger, who is with us here tonight – author, professor, and acclaimed architecture critic for The New York Times and The New Yorker – takes us through the house that Jack built. We are grateful to you all, and we can’t wait to welcome you inside. At LongHouse, gathering is part of our landscape and our vision. We are part of this living composition. We gather together for much more than just an occasion: We gather as a reminder of what we value. We gather for creativity, connection, and care for the world around us. Your presence tonight sustains a place and a vision. LongHouse is a living laboratory of design through art and nature, a case study for an innovative approach to contemporary life indoors and out.”

Guests included Board Members Patrick Amato, Emma Clurman, Christopher Coy, Sherri Donghia, Maryam Eisler, Anne Erni, David Fink, Dr. Derick T. George, Michael Jones, Mark Levine, Deborah Nevins, Suzanne Slesin, Peter H. Olsen, and Linda Willett, as well as Peter Bickford and Greg McCarthy, Michele and Marty Cohen, Bonnie Comley, Michele Oka Doner and Fred Doner, Lee Fryd, Alexander Hankin, Mark Mitton, Lee Skolnick, Toni Ross, and Robert Wilson.

Benefit Art Chairs Pamela Willoughby and Dianne Benson gathered a monumental group of paintings and sculptures for the art auction, including works by Laurie Anderson, Daniel Arsham, Tony Bechara, Ross Bleckner, Stephanie Brody-Lederman, Francisco Daniel Cabrera, Parker Calvert, Vija Celmins, Philippe Cheng, Don Christensen, Liz Collins, Renee Cox, Robert Dash, Peter Dayton, Michael De Feo, Victoria de Lesseps, Maryam Eisler, Eva Faye, Eric Fischl, Caio Fonseca, Saskia Friedrich, Robin Gianis, Nina Gillman, Burt Glinn, John Haubrich, Mary Heilmann, Alice Hope Fitzhugh Karol, Donghwan Kim, Shradha Kochhar, Mary Lambert, Laurie Lambrecht, Joseph La Piana, Marc Leuthold, Christa Maiwald, Chuck Manion, Mark Mennin, Joel Mesler, Steve Miller, Oscar Molina, Lola Montes, Malcolm Morley, Betty Parsons, Richard Pasquarelli, Jill Platner, Dalton Portella, Martin Puryear, Gabriele Raacke, Marko Remec, Marcia Resnick, Brent Richardson, Ugo Rondinone, Toni Ross, Holton Rower, Mason Saltarrell, Kenny Schachter, Kenny Scharf, Bastienne Schmidt, Mark Seidenfeld, Cindy Sherman, Vadis Turner, Andy Warhol, Ross Watts Chuck Webster, Robert Wilson, Darius Yektai, and Almond Zigmund.