Architect and art collector Peter Marino, known in perhaps equal measure for his sleek architecture and omnipresent, impossible-to-miss leather outfits, has announced plans to establish an eponymous art foundation in the Hamptons. The space, due to open to the public in September 2019, will house Marino’s vast art collection, which includes work by the likes of Andy Warhol, Zhang Huan, and Robert Mapplethorpe.
The foundation will be located in the former Rogers Memorial Library Building next door to the Southampton Arts Center, according to the local Hamptons newspaper Dan’s Papers. The architect said he has purchased and plans to restore the R.H. Robertson-designed building to create 8,000 square feet of exhibition space spread across two floors.
Speaking to 27 East, Marino explained that sharing his collection with the public is “the right thing to do,” especially since it gives him the opportunity to bring back to life the disused former library building. “I was very distraught to see what happened to the building,” he said. “We are going to turn it into a private museum that will make the Frick look shabby.”
Counterpoint Opening Night at SAC. Photo: © BFA
Locals looking for a hint of what’s to come can get a glimpse of the collection at the Southampton Arts Center, which opened a show of Marino’s holdings on Friday.
The exhibition is arranged across four different galleries, each dedicated to a different collecting category. They include models of Marino’s own architecture; sculptures and paintings by Pop artists; photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe; and a gallery dedicated German art, including a giant Anselm Kiefer and six Georg Baselitz paintings.
Counterpoint Opening Night at SAC. Photo: © BFA
Once complete, the Peter Marino Art Foundation will offer educational and community engagement programs in partnership with the art center next door.
Marino, who is a longtime Hamptons resident, has been a collector since 1978, when he acquired his first work from none other than Andy Warhol. (A watercolor with flowers signed, “To Peter, Andy Warhol” is on view at the Southampton Arts Center.)
As an architect, Marino is known for his keen interest in integrating art and architecture. He has commissioned more than 300 site-specific artworks. Marino’s firm has also designed the forthcoming Getty condo building in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood (not to be confused with the LA museum). The new development, due to open this fall, will house Lehmann Maupin’s new gallery and the private collection of hedge fund billionaire J. Tomilson Hill.
“COUNTERPOINT: Selections from The Peter Marino Collection” is on view at the Southampton Arts Center in Southampton until September 23.