It’s the middle of July and the summer season is officially in full swing. For a certain set of New Yorkers, that means driving out east for seaside weekends in the Hamptons, which has historically maintained its own calendar of art fairs, solo exhibitions, group shows, and parties.

So what should you check out on your visit? We caught up with Laura de Gunzburg, global senior director of the Cultivist, the arts club that gives its members VIP admission to fairs, exhibitions, and educational events around the world, to learn about what she’s looking forward to most over the coming months.

“Jacqueline Humphries” at the Dan Flavin Art Institute

Through May 17, 2020

Jacqueline Humphries at the Dan Flavin Art Institute, Bridgehampton, New York. © Jacqueline Humphries. Photo: Jason Mandella.

This show opened on June 22, and I popped in to see it last week. I was a bit surprised at first since it was a totally different body of work than what I was expecting. When I think of Humphries, I think of her large-scale paintings with codes, but these new works are all fluorescent black light paintings and installations made specifically for this exhibition. Together, they really show the artist moving towards a sculptural dimension, but also clearly thinking about the space and setting that is the Dan Flavin Art Institute. 

Location: The Dan Flavin Art Institute, 23 Corwith Avenue, Bridgehampton, New York 11932
Price: Free
Time: Thursday–Sunday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

“Kabakovs: How to Make Yourself Feel Better” at the Art Barge

July 17–August 5

Emilia and Ilya Kabakov. Photo by Roman Mensing. Courtesy of the Art Barge.

The Art Barge is mostly known for hosting conversation series with artists. This summer, their program will focus on discussions of the Bauhaus movement, and for the first time they have invited artists to also exhibit works, including Russian-American installation duo Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. [Their experiential, large-scale installations have garnered international acclaim for their ability to convey the sentiments of socioeconomic hardships in the late Soviet Union.]

Location: The Art Barge, 110 Napeague Meadow Road, Amagansett, New York 11930
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4.p.m.

“Tabula Rasa: The Watermill Center’s 26th Annual Summer Benefit and Auction” at the Watermill Center

July 27

Matthew Stone, Thinking About Thinking (2018). Courtesy of The Hole and the Watermill Center.

I am not one to be very social when I am out in the Hamptons since I usually prefer to spend time with close friends and family, but the Watermill Center always puts on an amazing event. You can expect performances throughout the evening, a live auction, and always a very fun crowd! 

Location: The Watermill Center, 39 Watermill Towd Road, Water Mill, New York 11976
Price: Cocktail tickets from $600
Time: 6 p.m.–12 a.m.

“Abstract Climates: Helen Frankenthaler in Provincetown” at the Parrish Art Museum

August 4–October 27

Helen Frankenthaler, Provincetown Window (1963–64). Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Tim Pyle, Light Blue Studio, courtesy Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, New York.

This exhibition will focus on work Frankenthaler produced during summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The paintings, completed between the late 1950s through 1971, explore abstraction and landscape. Frankenthaler was an important Color Field artist, and one of the few women to have been included in Clement Greenberg’s seminal 1964 exhibition, Post Painterly Abstraction. She was a real creative force, and one of my favorite artists.

Location: Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, New York 11976
Price: $12
Time: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, 10 a.m.–5.pm; Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.

“Ugo Rondinone: Sunny Days” at Guild Hall

August 10–October 14

Ugo Rondinone, Fünfundzwanzigsteraprilzweitausendundzehn (2010). Courtesy of Guild Hall.

I am a huge fan of Rondinone’s work. It’s so happy and colorful. Personally, I love his hyperreal clown sculptures, as well as his mesmerizing target paintings. I got to know him a few years ago when I interviewed him for a piece I was writing about a show he was curating in Paris, at the Palais de Tokyo, for his partner John Giorgio. I will not be in the Hamptons for the opening, sadly, but I’m looking forward to seeing this show in August when I am back. 

Location: Guild Hall, 158 Main Street, East Hampton, New York 11937
Price: Free
Time: Monday–Sunday, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.