You step inside the doors of a welcoming residence, taking in the interiors curated with great care and style. But you’re not here on a social call. Instead, you’ve come to discover Hamptons art locales and collectible design. This scenario is not a fantasy, but an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional gallery model—one that can be experienced at three Hamptons homes.
Object & Thing Immerses Visitors Inside Artist + Architect Homes
A vignette within Jack Lenor Larsen’s home serves as inspiration for the installation design of Object & Thing’s “A Summer Arrangement,” which celebrates the concept of finding art in all forms. Photo by Colin King, Courtesy Object & Thing.
Abby Bangser calls it “the opposite of working in a ‘white cube.’ ” Since she founded exhibition platform and itinerant gallery Object & Thing in 2019, Bangser has curated shows inside the homes of artists and architects—and her next stop is LongHouse Reserve, the iconic East Hampton property of textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen. “A Summer Arrangement,” a collection of site-specific creations curated by Bangser and Glenn Adamson with installation design by Colin King, showcases pieces like Frances Palmer ceramics and a three-dimensional Wyatt Kahn painting in conversation with Larsen’s personal treasures. A shell collected at the beach or a straw gardening hat are given equal place to contemporary artworks for a “completely immersive” visit, notes Bangser.
Verso Displays Work With A Spirit Of Creative Ingenuity
The outdoor installations and architectural features of Verso’s Six Square House make for an immersive visit integrated in its Hamptons environment. Photo by Fran Parente, Courtesy Verso.
Residential settings foster an experience “that would be impossible within a traditional, white-walled context,” concurs Amauri Aguiar, founder of art and design gallery Verso. At Six Square House, a Bridgehampton abode designed by architecture firm Young Projects and Verso’s East End home, a rotating selection of creations by emerging and established designers from around the world is displayed with a spirit of creative ingenuity. (Think: a pantry-turned-display for a 47-piece ceramic series during a past exhibit.) You’re invited not simply to view the works, but to have a seat, take your time, maybe even sip a coffee.
Onna House Grants Visitors Passage Into Lisa Perry’s Intimate World
The thoughtful curation of designer Lisa Perry, founder of Onna House, a private home and studio space that can be toured by appointment, shines through in a past pop up at Sag Harbor’s 1818 Collective. Photo by Glenn Allsop, Courtesy Onna House & 1818 Collective.
At Onna House, visitors are granted passage into an even more intimate world: a private home and studio space by Lisa Perry. The designer and curator turned the 1962 modernist residence into a haven for women artists from all over the globe. Book an appointment and you will be ushered into interiors chock-full of art arranged in a way that “delights people and gives them ideas for their own space,” Perry says. Should you wish to learn more about a piece, she will help you get in touch with its creator. But, with luck, you might run into them taking in the Zen energy of the tearoom or enjoying a dip in the pool. It is, Perry insists, “a place for community to gather.”
Whether an artist or art lover, expect to be welcomed to these East End haunts not as a patron, but as a guest.
