By Julia Szabo
Collaborating with fellow artist friends, Almond Zigmund creates a magical multimedia installation at Guild Hall called Wading Room, whose permanent collection supplies the furnishings for the “artist-designed environment” where visitors are encouraged to “linger, lounge and interact.” Says Zigmund of her installation: “It becomes a place where something is asked of the viewer: not passive looking, but active, bodily engagement with the environment.” Through July 13. 158 Main St., East Hampton; guildhall.org
In an artful celebration of place, Sean Scully: The Albee Barn, Montauk enshrines the Irish-born artist’s ties to the East End, in particular the summer of ’82, when he spent a month in Montauk as a fellow of the Edward F. Albee Foundation—a pivotal place in Scully’s career, where the urban native first embraced natural phenomena in his paintings. Through September 21. Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Hwy., Water Mill; parrishart.org
Old Glory is raised to art at Southampton Arts Center with the compelling show Independency: The American Flag at 250 Years, a collection of historic American flags, displayed alongside abstract paintings by Scully—whose work, he explains, “constantly quotes flags and banners and shifting national identities.” Among the flags are a specimen for the candidacy of one “Abram” Lincoln, and some from NASA’s Apollo missions. Through July 19. 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, southamptonartscenter.org
Curated by Eric Fischl and opening June 22, The Church’s Summer exhibition is The Ark, a group show celebrating rebirth after the deluge. Among the works on display: Louise Bourgeois’ 12-foot sculpture “Spider Couple” (2003), exhibited on the East End for the first time. In a collaboration with the Sag Harbor Whaling and Historical Museum, The Ark also features a large wooden replica, moored on the Whaling Museum’s front lawn: a mode of transport becoming a stationary place, with visitors invited to leave their creative marks on the symbolic vessel with paint and other media. 48 Madison St., Sag Harbor; thechurchsagharbor.org
The upstairs gallery at Sag Harbor Cinema hosts dramas on canvas by painter Sabina Streeter, whose bold brush often explores cinematic themes, conjuring movie sets as participatory places that invite the viewer in. Through June. 90 Main St., Sag Harbor; sagharborcinema.org
The sculptures of El Salvador emigre J. Oscar Molina address a theme the artist knows a lot about: uprooting from one place to another. Capturing, from a very personal POV, a long-awaited arrival after a journey of many miles, his Giacometti-esque Children of the World sculptures are on view in the group show Migration, along with works by María Schön, Andre Worrell, John Neville and Willem de Kooning. Through June 7. Julie Keyes Gallery, 45 Main St., Sag Harbor; juliekeyesart.com.
On Saturday, June 21, Guild Hall will present The Case of the Stranger, a new song cycle by Whitney White, featuring Molina’s Children sculptures incorporated into the set design.
Andy Warhol was architecture titan Peter Marino’s first client when he opened his now-legendary practice in the 1970s; Andy Warhol—15 Minutes of Collecting highlights the 25 Warhols that Marino has collected over the years, including one acquisition signed “To Peter From Andy,” for a charmingly personal look at the artist-patron dynamic. From May 23 through September 27. 11 Jobs Lane, Southampton; petermarinoartfoundation.org
Acclaimed artist-filmmaker Tiffany Shlain’s “Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring”—at 250 pounds, a wooden tree-ring sculpture with literal and thematic weight—arrives on the East End for one weekend only (June 20-22), landing in the most logical place: the courtyard of Bridgehampton’s WACH (Women’s Art Center of the Hamptons). “I look at “Dendrofemonology” as a movable monument, bringing feminist history where it needs to be,” says Shlain, who will give a talk at WACH on Saturday, June 21, during a reception from 4 to 6PM. On view indoors: Shape Shifters, with works on canvas by veteran artists Joyce Parcher, 87, Donna Green, Eva Faye, Polly Barton and Roisin Bateman. 2418 Main St., Bridgehampton; wachamptonsny.org
With My Wife, Masked and Unmasked, another polymath, artist-filmmaker Carol Saft, offers intimate glimpses of her spouse, Cynthia, in intimate places (e.g. the couple’s bathroom and bedroom), creating hauntingly edgy paintings—with and without facial beauty masks. Opens June 14. Duck Creek Arts Center, 127 Squaw Road, Springs, East Hampton; duckcreekarts.org