Artworks and Artifacts
“Things That Look Like Magic: Cheryl R. Riley and Wharton Esherick,” an exhibition organized by Glenn Adamson, curator at large, and Carrie Rebora Barratt, LongHouse Reserve’s former director, will open there on Saturday and remain on view through Sept. 6.
Jack Lenor Larsen (1927-2020), LongHouse’s founder, knew both artists and actively and intentionally gathered artworks and artifacts from each, curating his spaces again and again. Esherick (1887-1970), who worked in a wide variety of mediums including painting, printmaking, and sculpture, is best known for his wood furniture, which combines modernist sculptural form with functional craft.
Riley is an artist and designer, curator and activist, analyst of contemporary culture, and an advocate for Black diasporic history. The exhibition will showcase the many facets of her practice.
A members’ preview will be held on Saturday from 5 to 7; the exhibition will open on Sunday at 11. Riley will be present both days.
Innovation and Legacy
“Photography in Focus,” a group show featuring both modern and contemporary artists, opens Thursday at Southampton’s Slattery Gallery and will continue through June 22. A reception will take place May 23 from 5 to 7 p.m.
The show offers a dialogue between generations of photographers, emphasizing both innovation and legacy, says the gallery. Through varied approaches, ranging from fashion and portraiture to conceptual and fine art, the works reflect the evolving language of photographers and their medium.
Artists represented are Michele Dragonetti, Michael Dweck, Formento & Formento, Man Ray, Jean Pagliuso, Mark Seidenfeld, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Bert Stern, and Kiki Smith.
Sculpture Celebrated
The Parrish Art Museum will host a conversation between Randi Renate, whose work is included in the museum’s current exhibition “Regeneration,” and Juli Berwald, a science writer, on Saturday afternoon at 2. In a discussion moderated by Corinne Erni, the museum’s chief curator, they will discuss how art and science can intersect on such topics as climate change, coral protection, and collective action.
A reception will follow at 3 to celebrate the installation of Renate’s outdoor sculpture “Are we psychic coral-polyps?” Inspired by the anatomy and symbiotic existence of coral polyps, the 16-foot-tall cedar-clad hollow sculpture symbolizes the cooperative mode of thriving coral colonies. Its scale, according to the artist, is meant to “invert our egoistic human relationship to this microverse.”
Tickets are $30, $25 for members’ guests, and free for members, resident benefits passholders, students, and children.
East End Scenes
The Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor will open a solo exhibition, her first there, showcasing the work of Emily Persson, an Australian painter, with a reception Saturday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The artist will travel to Sag Harbor for the opening.
Based in Melbourne, Persson has been creating oil paintings with a palette knife for years. After visiting Sag Harbor for the first time in 2024, she returned home to paint a collection of scenes from the East End.
Among those works are “I Wonder So I Wander,” in which a front yard on Main Street is bordered by freshly cut privet shaded by mature trees. “Direct Beach Access” places the viewer in the backyard of a waterfront home set off by hydrangeas and pollinators.
The exhibition will run through May 25.
Small Works at Kramoris
“Spring Fling,” a show of small works by over 20 local artists, opens Thursday at the Romany Kramoris Gallery in Sag Harbor and will continue through May 21. A reception will happen Saturday from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Participating artists include Michael Albert, Adriana Barone, Christine Cadarette, Casey Chalem Anderson, Thomas Condon, ABC de Kramo, Quincy Egginton, Christopher Engel, Mark Golden, Barbara Groot, Muriel Hanson Falborn, Anne Holtermann, Carol Ientile, Lutha Leahy-Miller, Ghilia Lipman-Wulf, Robert Lohman, Suzanne McAndrews, Katherine Milliken, Sharon Mroz Hopek, Lori Polson, and Roger Sichel.
Goodbye, Lucore Art
Christopher Lucore has announced that his Montauk gallery is closing as of Thursday. “This space has meant a great deal to me,” he said in a statement. “Over the past five years, it’s grown into something far beyond a gallery — a place shaped by the artists, the work, and the community that brought it to life. I’m incredibly grateful for every exhibition, every conversation, and every person who walked through those doors.”
