The article surveys the 2026 summer art season in the Hamptons, highlighting new outdoor sculptures at LongHouse Reserve—including Renée Cox's 'Soul Culture Statue,' Sean Scully's '48,' and William Kentridge's 'Tap'—and a slate of solo exhibitions at venues such as Guild Hall, the Parrish Art Museum, the Arts Center at Duck Creek, and the Peter Marino Art Foundation. Featured artists include Arcmanoro Niles (whose show 'Forgotten Words I Never Got to Say' marks a decade since his Guild Hall residency), Sanford Biggers (presenting 'Drift' at the Parrish), Claire Watson, Brent Richardson, Robert Nava, Betty Parsons, Carla Accardi, and Y.Z. Kami. The Church in Sag Harbor will open 'This Land: Considering the American Landscape,' borrowing works from the Parrish and Dan Flavin's collection.
This roundup matters because it captures the vitality and diversity of the East End art scene, where local artists—many of them residents of Springs, Sag Harbor, and Montauk—receive prominent solo museum shows and outdoor commissions. The exhibitions engage with pressing themes such as racial and gender equality (Cox), African American history on Long Island (Biggers), and the enduring tradition of landscape painting (Niles, the Hudson River School), while also showcasing abstract and surrealist tendencies. The season underscores how the Hamptons function as both a summer destination for high-profile art and a nurturing ground for artists who live and work there year-round.