LongHouse Reserve opens with Rites of Spring

Thousands of yellow, white and orange daffodils bloomed in the distance as artist Mia Westerlund Roosen pondered the pieces of her stucco water sculpture “Battenkill,” which she and her son Eric had trucked in from its previous site in Manhattan to reassemble at the LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton last week.

Ms. Roosen’s sculpture is one of nine new sculptures by six different artists that will launch the LongHouse Reserve’s “Rites of Spring” exhibit opening on Saturday, April 25, from 2 to 5 p.m. The 16-acre sculpture garden and arboretum is going on its 14th season. Founded by world-famous textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen, LongHouse Reserve is home to nearly 70 sculptures in addition to the landscaped grounds.

Ms. Roosen’s piece is a 28-foot stucco oval that invites the viewer inside to sit and listen as water—400 gallons worth—cascades through the sculpture from above. It is the only sculpture being assembled on site and is Ms. Roosen’s second presentation at the LongHouse.

“I’ve done a lot of work depicting water,” Ms. Roosen said during a recent interview, “so I decided to use the real thing,” she said. “It’s a Chinese puzzle to put it all together.”

During the assembly, Mr. Larsen, wearing a long black and white checked scarf, came buzzing up in a golf cart to check on the installation site. He said he was very pleased to have the Roosen piece and was excited to see how it would fit in its new home. Mr. Larsen reported that he was also quite happy about the new George Rickey sculpture—two stainless steel rectangles on a post that were hypnotically moving with the light breeze in front of the LongHouse.

“We’re very keen on our Rickey,” Mr. Larsen said, admiring it from across a meadow. “I saw his last show in Europe and I decided I wanted Rickeys.”

Next year, LongHouse will host a full-scale exhibition of Rickey’s work. “Having one is already showing us what that show will be,” Mr. Larsen said, smiling.

The other new sculptures to be premiered include East Ender Eric Fischl’s “Tumbling Woman,” which was commissioned to commemorate those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Previously, Mr. Fischl’s work was deemed too controversial and withdrawn after being installed along a Rockefeller Center concourse in Manhattan.

At LongHouse, there will also be four sculptures of marble, travertine, limestone and brownstone by Uruguayan artist Gonzalo Fonseca. Additionally, “The Quarter Lounge,” a bench made of quarters and stainless steel by Johnny Swing of Vermont, will be on display.

“What we’re trying to achieve is art of gardens,” said LongHouse Executive Director Matko Tomicic last week. “You walk around and suddenly you come into an enclosed space and there is Yoko Ono’s white chess set.”

Several events are scheduled throughout the season at LongHouse, most notably the second annual “Garden Container Exhibition,” featuring garden designers and architects to be judged by the famous gardener, author and TV show host P. Allen Smith on June 27. Last year’s judge was Martha Stewart.

The annual summer benefit gala will be held July 18. Later in the summer, an exhibition opening of art furniture by Judy Kensley McKie will be held on July 24, which will also feature a concert, “Gorgeous Colors and Energetic Figures.”

The multi-use venue is a continuing project, according to Mr. Tomicic. “It’s a never ending story—this garden,” he said. “It’s a tapestry that Jack Larsen started and continues to weave.”