‘Flora II’ at Estia’s Little Kitchen

The Watermill Center and Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor are currently presenting “Flora II,” an exhibition of new works by artist Piper Bangs. “Flora II,” which is on view at Estia’s through May 14, is a series of intimately scaled oil paintings of wildflowers and cultivated plants that the artist encountered during her visits to The Watermill Center, Quail Hill Farm, and Estia’s Little Kitchen.

The exhibition opened February 13 at Estia’s Little Kitchen and will be on view to the restaurant’s patrons through May 14. All proceeds from the sale of the works will support the artist’s emerging career and The Watermill Center’s mission and programs.

“Flora II” builds upon Bangs’s solo exhibition, “Flora,” presented during The Watermill Center’s 2022 Annual Summer Benefit. Her solo debut featured paintings inspired by the plants and flowers from The Watermill Center’s Clementine Hunter Garden.

During her show, she had the opportunity to meet Chef Colin Ambrose of Estia’s Little Kitchen. Ambrose has a long-standing relationship with The Watermill Center, particularly as chef for its Artist’s Table Brunches and Summer Gala Benefit Dinners. They talked at length about Bangs’s work and Ambrose’s history of presenting art at his restaurant. The conversation eventually segued into a discussion about Estia’s garden and Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, where Ambrose sources various spices and produce. The natural evolution of their talk blossomed into “Flora II.”

“The exhibition will celebrate each plant’s unique beauty and location,” Bangs states. “Through my meditative painting process, I allow myself an interpretive hand to filter into and throughout each composition. This technique allows for a mixture of naturalism, observation, and improvisation. By using an intimate scale, tranquil background colors, and delicate compositions, I hope to share each plant’s understated dignity with the East End community.”

Piper Bangs is a painter raised in San Antonio, Texas, pursuing her BFA in drawing and painting at Laguna College of Art and Design. She lives and works in Laguna Beach, California.

Estia’s Little Kitchen is at 1615 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Sag Harbor.