artMRKT Comes Back For Round Two

Jul 17, 2012 8:48 AM

New York City residents who spend their summers on the East End do so for a reason—to take a time out from the chaos that is Manhattan and enjoy the blissful atmosphere of the Hamptons. But according to artMRKT creator Max Fishko, that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to get away from the art.

“A few reasons why the summer is a good time and why the Hamptons is a good place has to do with the strong connection to New York,” Mr. Fishko said during a telephone interview last Tuesday. “A straight line can be drawn between active participants and artists that are in New York during the winter, but end up in the Hamptons at some point. People who are interested, educated and love the arts.”

The second annual artMRKT Hamptons will be held on the Bridgehampton Historical Society grounds beginning on Thursday, July 19. On that night, there will be an opening preview, to benefit the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton.

During the opening night reception, Brooklyn chef Leon Gunn will create “the quintessential Hamptons dining experience—the summer barbecue,” according to information provided by artMRKT. The modern and contemporary art fair will continue from Friday, July 20, through Sunday, July 22, and will feature 40 galleries.

Manhattan-based Morgan Lehman Gallery will exhibit again at the show. Gallery owners, husband-and-wife team Jay and Sally Lehman, said they are returning to the East End for both business and pleasure.

“First and foremost we like to go for the art, and to see some of our clients who have places out east during the summer,” Mr. Lehman said during a telephone interview on Friday. “But we also bring our children and get to make a vacation out of it ourselves, We are renting a house in Sag Harbor.”

The couple has plans to exhibit a series of large-format color photographs by artist David Allee, they said. According to Mr. Lehman, the photos were taken in the Hamptons during all four seasons, each displaying its own off-beat tension.

The gallery will also show an artist who uses vintage magazines and reconfigures the imagery to make it look like a modernist painting, Mr. Lehman said.

“We have some great art to show this year,” Mr. Lehman reported. “We are excited to have the opportunity to see people, exhibit new work and participate in a dialogue with like 5,000 people that we wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to meet because the art scene is much slower in New York during the summer.”

Last year, a portion of the proceeds from artMRKT benefitted Southampton Hospital, according to Mr. Fishko. This year, the team was adamant about finding a partnership that gelled just as well, he said.

“I’m excited about working with The Parrish Art Museum this year,” he said. “They do such great things out there and when they agreed to work with us to help promote our opening night, I knew it was going to be an exciting new dimension to add to the show.”

The vision for the exhibit was to appeal to the audience’s sense of discovery in an ideal moment and location where they aren’t focusing on a million things, according to the artMRKT mastermind.

“We want people to think of it as a place they can come and discover an artist that they haven’t seen before in a context that is going to be non-threatening and super manageable,” Mr. Fishko said. “Hopefully they can find something they fall in love with.”

Mr. Lehman agreed that it’s the unique quality of artMRKT, and its setting here on the East End, that makes it successful.

“It’s a beautiful place,” he said. “The mood is lighter, people are vacationing. It is such a relaxed atmosphere.”

artMRKT Hamptons opens on Thursday, July 19, and continues through Sunday, July 22. Evening Preview Ticket are $100 online in advance and $110 at door. A three-day ticket is $35 online in advance and $40 at door. One-day tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For more information, visit art-mrkt.com/hamptons.