Springs Improvement Society Puts On Summer of Sculpture Throughout Historic District

Picture walking along the Springs Historic District of East Hampton, off to the Springs General Store on Old Stone Highway, when the sight of a giant coffee cup made of stone tiles draws your attention.

That’s Marcie Honerkamp’s “We Are Happy to Serve You,” one of several sculptures scattered around the historic district as part of the inaugural “Summer of Sculpture” exhibition. Hosted by the Springs Improvement Society at Ashawagh Hall, the exhibition places 11 sculptures made by local artists in spots spread along Old Stone Highway and Springs Fireplace Road, with an emphasis on significant sites. The exhibition will be outdoors all summer, along with additional sculptures displayed inside Ashawagh Hall during the weekends of July 23 and 24 and July 30 and 31.

Loring Bolger, a member of the Springs Improvement Society overseeing “Summer of Sculpture,” said she believes the public will build a greater interest in art after experiencing the unique exhibition.

“What we’re hoping is that people get a greater awareness of outdoor sculpting,” Ms. Bolger said. “The most interesting thing we focused on, and that we hope people notice, is that the sculptures don’t fight with the environment.”

The “we” Ms. Bolger refers to are her partners at Guild Hall in East Hampton: curatorial assistant Stephanie Miller and museum director/chief curator Christina Strassfield, who curated “Summer of Sculpture” with Guild Hall's blessing.

“Loring had been volunteering at Guild Hall for 10 years. She’s always on top of everything,” Ms. Strassfield said. “She and I know that public sculpture is hard to find and there’s not as much of it in Suffolk than there is in New York City.”

With that in mind, Ms. Bolger and Ms. Strassfield decided to collaborate on the exhibition. First was the main location of Ashawagh Hall, originally a school hall when it was purchased by the Springs Improvement Society in 1909 for a mere dollar. Ashawagh Hall is the home of many community events, such as the annual Fisherman’s Fair, but it’s also available to be leased by artists looking to display their work. Then there was the decision to have the sculptures outside, something Ms. Bolger thought would be informative for visitors and celebratory for cultured locals.

“This community has a large appreciation of the art community, so displaying the work like this is meant to celebrate it,” Ms. Bolger said. “As for the newcomers seeing this for the first time, this is art education.”

Ms. Bolger sent out emails and feelers to local artists to see who would be interested. The first sculpture selected was “Contemplation #3” by Dennis Leri, which earned approval five months before the exhibition’s opening ceremony thanks to Mr. Leri presenting a smaller model of his sculpture while the one displayed in the exhibition is twice his size. While all of the sculptures on display are versions of abstract art, Ms. Bolger and Ms. Strassfield made sure to keep details vague for the purpose of a more interesting experience.

“Each artist came to submit their work without any knowledge of a collaboration with others or that there was a theme,” Ms. Strassfield said. “That way, each artist came at their work from a different point of view.”

Ms. Bolger and Ms. Strassfield got permission from East Hampton Town to place the statues around the historic district, while also having to describe the material each statue was made out of and how it was made. To make sure the exhibition felt complete, they walked through the entire route to make sure the art and the environment worked well together.

The hope of Ms. Bolger and Ms. Strassfield is to make the “Summer of Sculpture” return every year.

“We want to do this for all of the people in the Springs District,” Ms. Bolger said. “We wanted to keep it small for now since this is the first time, but next time we want to have more artists and maybe more locations. We just want to remind people that these people have a love for art.”

The Ashawagh Hall is located at 780 Springs Fireplace Road in East Hampton. The Summer of Sculpture" exhibition will run through Saturday, October 15. Call 631-267-6554 or email m21489@aol.com for more information.

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