To mark the United States’ semi-quincentennial in 2026, the Parrish Art Museum will present “PARRISH USA250: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” a yearlong series of exhibitions and programs examining the founding ideals of the nation through the East End’s enduring role in American art and culture. The series reflects on the nation’s founding values, considers the present moment and imagines new paths forward while highlighting the significant contributions of Long Island artists to American creativity and identity.
“In 2026, the Parrish Art Museum has both the privilege and the responsibility to illuminate the ideals that shaped this nation through the lens of art,” said Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, executive director of the Parrish Art Museum. “As we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, we will reflect on our shared history while celebrating the creative spirit that shapes the art and culture in our own community on the East End of Long Island.
“The planned exhibition series amplifies essential conversations about identity, innovation, and freedom as quintessential American values explored by East End artists past and present,” she continued. “These conversations remain vital as we engage with our history and the realities of our country today. Our exhibitions invite visitors to consider ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness’ not as distant principles but as living values. We are grateful to the artists whose imagination and insight continue to propose how to move our national story forward, together.”
The year begins with “Regeneration: Long Island’s History of Ecological Art and Care,” on view from February 22 to June 14, 2026. The exhibition explores the USA250 theme of Life and examines how ecological art, environmental responses and community collaboration emerge from the region’s longstanding fishing and agricultural traditions. An intergenerational group of 10 artists with strong ties to Long Island and New York respond to the environmental challenges facing the East End. Newly commissioned works by Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos), created in collaboration with the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, draw on Indigenous seaweed-harvesting practices to address nitrogen pollution. Scott Bluedorn and Cindy Pease Roe incorporate reclaimed materials to highlight shifting ecologies and the impact of human-made waste. Michelle Stuart engages with organic matter in seed-based drawings, and Tucker Marder uses puppetry and storytelling to animate local tree histories. Alan Sonfist will create “Celestial Meadow,” a site-specific installation mapping native wildflowers to the Ursa Major constellation. Mamoun Nukumanu’s living biomorphic sculptures provide habitats for flora and fauna on the Parrish Meadow. Sasha Fishman, Randi Renate and Maya Lin draw on scientific research to model restorative relationships between humans and the natural world. The exhibition is co-organized by Scout Hutchinson, associate curator of contemporary art at The FLAG Art Foundation, and Corinne Erni, The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator of Art and Education at the Parrish.
The museum will then present “Sanford Biggers: Drift,” on view from May 17 to September 13, 2026, which explores the theme of the Pursuit of Happiness. This marks the artist’s first major solo presentation on the East End, where he maintains personal ties. The exhibition features new commissions and signature sculptures and textile works that draw on influences including Buddhism, Los Angeles graffiti culture, Gee’s Bend quilts, African sculpture and Biggers’ connection to Sag Harbor. The motif of the cloud unites the exhibition, expressing themes of change and adaptability. The installation “Unsui (Cloud Forest)” features illuminated cloud sculptures suspended from the museum’s peaked ceiling and references Biggers’ time in Japan, drawing on Zen Buddhist philosophy. Works from the artist’s ongoing “Codex” series, created from repurposed antique quilts, are included, and a new large-scale Codex work will address the histories of African American communities on the East End. A site-specific sand installation inspired by prayer rugs, breakdance floors and Buddhist mandalas will be intentionally altered through performance to produce a painterly blur. A marble sculpture from the “Oracle” series will greet visitors in the museum’s outdoor lobby. Biggers said that looking into the clouds reveals differences in perception, similar to differences in how people perceive America, and that ideals and values may vary yet remain worth striving for. The exhibition is co-organized by Corinne Erni and Scout Hutchinson.
Following this, the Parrish will present “Tony Bechara: An Artist of Many Worlds,” on view from June 28 to November 1, 2026. This is the first comprehensive survey of the Puerto Rican–born, New York–based artist (1942–2025). The exhibition includes more than 50 works spanning six decades and explores Bechara’s dedication to color theory, optics, and abstraction. Influenced by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, Bechara developed a distinctive technique involving hand-mapped grids created with masking tape and analog mathematical formulas. His shimmering “pixel” compositions reflect his bicultural identity and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Timed to coincide with the one-year commemoration of the artist’s passing, the exhibition will be accompanied by a monograph including an essay by Domitille d’Orgeval, an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, and a full chronology. The exhibition is co-organized by Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut and Kaitlin Halloran.
In autumn, the museum will open “Abstract Expressionism: The East End, 1940 to Today,” on view from September 27, 2026, to February 14, 2027. This exhibition explores Liberty and Freedom of Expression and traces the development of Abstract Expressionism on the East End beginning in the mid-20th century when Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner established their home in Springs. Their presence inspired a growing artistic community that included Elaine and Willem de Kooning, James Brooks and Charlotte Park. Drawn from the Parrish’s permanent collection and prominent private loans, the exhibition features works by Mary Abbott, James Brooks, Elaine de Kooning, Perle Fine, Gertrude Greene, Lee Krasner, Esteban Vicente, Willem de Kooning, John Opper, Betty Parsons, Joanna Pousette-Dart, Syd Solomon, Claude Lawrence, Suzanne McClelland, Pat Steir, and Frank Wimberley. The exhibition is organized by Kaitlin Halloran.
The year concludes with “William Merritt Chase and Walter Granville-Smith: American Impressionists of the East End,” on view from November 16, 2026, to March 21, 2027. This exhibition explores the USA250 theme of Liberty and examines the work of two American Impressionists who shaped the perception of East End summer life among the late 19th- and early 20th-century urban bourgeoisie. Chase and Granville-Smith shared an interest in the region’s natural beauty and created scenes of social life, family and landscape that reflect evolving American identities. The exhibition is organized by Kaitlin Halloran.
“I am particularly excited to present the ‘PARRISH USA250’ exhibitions exploring Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness at this pivotal moment in our country,” said Erni. “These exhibitions recognize the creative force of the East End and its continued global impact, from a new cohort of environmental artists in dialogue with renowned earth artists, to abstract painters inspired by the East End since the 1940s, to Sanford Biggers, who remixes cultural values and signifiers through sculptures, quilt works, and site-specific installations, and Tony Bechara, who approached color theory and abstraction through his own perspective as an international Latino artist.”
The museum will also present several additional exhibitions in 2026. “FRESH PAINT,” an ongoing collaboration between the Parrish Art Museum and The FLAG Art Foundation, will continue as a rotating single-artwork exhibition series featuring new or rarely exhibited works accompanied by commissioned texts and writings by the Parrish Teen Council ARTscope. Upcoming presentations will include works by Tschabalala Self, Emmi Whitehorse (Diné) and Chase Hall. “Parrish x The FLAG Art Foundation,” a new collaborative exhibition series in the museum’s central galleries, will begin in March 2026 with works by Ellsworth Kelly. The “2026 Student Exhibition,” on view from March 8 to April 26, will showcase works by more than 1,000 students from kindergarten through high school across Eastern Long Island.
The museum’s annual Midsummer Gala will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026, and will honor philanthropist Ellen Katz and artists Enoc Perez, Joan Semmel, Pat Steir and Hiroshi Sugimoto. The event includes the Midsummer Gala Dinner and Afterglow Party.
More information about each artist, their exhibitions, and Parrish programming and events is available at parrishart.org. The Parrish Art Museum is at 279 Montauk Highway in Water Mill.
Staff Writer on Dec 12, 2025