The travelling exhibition platform Object & Thing, which has become known for popping up at storied, yet slightly obscure, design locations around the East Coast, has opened its current iteration at LongHouse, the East Hampton home and sculpture garden of acclaimed textile designer John Lenor Larsen.
Object & thing takes over LongHouse, East Hampton
LongHouse in East Hampton, New York
Taking place within the summer living room, gallery and guest level of the residence, ‘A Summer Arrangement: Object & Thing at LongHouse’ (until 3 September 2023) has been co-curated by the platform’s founder Abby Bangser and LongHouse’s curator-at-large Glenn Adamson. It also features an installation design by Colin King, who shares Larsen’s approach to finding art in objects of all forms – an ethos expressed throughout the exhibition.
Back wall: Kiva Motnyk, Vanishing (2023). Bed area: Jack Lenor Larsen, Magnum (1970) used as a bed covering; side table with ceramic by Ludmilla Balkis, Monochrome No. 04, (2021)
In fact, Larsen built LongHouse as a case study for a creative approach to life, believing that works of art displayed in a living space would be more relevant than in a museum or through media. Inspired by the 7th-century Shinto shrine at Ise, Japan, Larsen worked with architect Charles Forberg on the design of the house, which was completed in 1992.
A voracious collector, he surrounded himself with objects from around the world and arranged them with simple, local things – a bowl of fruit on a Wharton Esherick table, a collection of shells and seeds in an African basket – with collections and arrangements filling the house. Following his passing in 2020, Larsen left LongHouse as a gift to future visitors, inviting organic change and artistic collaboration, and as a sanctuary.
Back wall: ladder and baskets from the collection of LongHouse with a work by Jeremy Frey on the top rung. Wall: Kiva Motnyk, Light Reflections (2023). Ludmilla Balkis, Monochrome No. 04, (2021) on the side table; Jack Lenor Larsen, Magnum (1970), used as a bed covering
‘A Summer Arrangement’ takes inspiration from Larsen's non-hierarchical approach to objects and brings together contemporary works of art and design, including site-specific commissions. All of the works are created from materials that Larsen made and collected, such as ceramic, fibre, glass, metal and wood. In addition to works by textile artist Megumi Shauna Arai, sculptures by Wyatt Kahn and Alma Allen, and ceramics by Frances Palmer, Larsen’s own collection of Wharton Esherick furniture, including a dining table that was displayed at the 1939 World’s Fair, adds a captivating dimension to experiencing the already evocative setting.
Sonia Gomes, Tecendo Amanhã III (2016) on the window; micaceous clay vessels by Johnny Ortiz-Concha arranged on a Wharton Esherick table from the collection of LongHouse
Adamson, LongHouse curator-at-large and an advisor to Object & Thing, says, ‘Larsen was a master of the subtle art of arrangement. The objects in his collection were in perpetual motion, constantly finding new adjacencies. In a sense, this project simply continues that practice, while also giving an impression of what Larsen might be looking at and collecting if he were still with us today.’
‘A Summer Arrangement: Object & Thing at LongHouse’ is on view until 3 September 2023
Longhouse.org; object-thing.com
There is a $20 admission fee that benefits LongHouse and is charged upon entry, or by advance reservation on the website. Discounted admission is available for seniors and guests with disabilities. Complimentary admission is offered for children, high school and college students, or veterans and active personnel.
Wharton Esherick chair from the collection of LongHouse; on the shelves are an arrangement of baskets, seed pods, shells and wooden stands from the collection of LongHouse alongside ceramics by Cody Hoyt, Frances Palmer and Raina Lee. On the console: Sophie Lou Jacobsen, Giardino Vase I, II and III (2023); Adam Silverman, Untitled (2019–19)
Enrico David, Untitled (2014) on the wall. On the shelves are ceramics by Laird Gough, Ludmilla Balkis and Jennifer Lee; glass Giardino candleholders by Sophie Lou Jacobsen; a wooden stand from the collection at LongHouse
On the walls, left to right: Sam Moyer, Small Bond No. LXVI (2020); Liz Collins, Graft 1 (2023). On the side table: Jim McDowell, Black is Still Beautiful (2023); turned wooden vessel from the collection of LongHouse
On the wall: Simone Bodmer-Turner, House Painting, Soil and Cattails (2023). On desk, ceramics by Laird Gough and Adam Silverman; a faux bois maple chest with leather lined drawers by L.A. Door and objects from Jack Lenor Larsen’s bedroom desk
Teague’s Path, Red Spring Bookcase (2023) with glass vessels by Paul Arnhold; wood combs with pedestals by Teague’s Path; basket from the collection of LongHouse
On the wall: Simone Bodmer-Turner, House Painting, Woven Cattails (2023) and House Painting, Woven Lilies (2022–23). On the table are ceramics by Julia Chiang and Jolie Ngo
Sarah Crowner, Tile Painting (Yellow Terra Cotta) (2018) on the wall; face jugs by Jim McDowell displayed on a console table by Teague’s Path
Wyatt Kahn, Untitled, (2021) on the wall. On the console, left to right: Adam Silverman, Untitled (2018–19); objects in the collection of LongHouse
Wood fired ceramics by Frances Palmer arranged in the windowsill inspired by other displays at LongHouse
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