Women Supporting Women: Onna House Leans Into Artistic Mission

Lisa Perry is many things. She is an art collector, a designer, a lover of architecture and a women’s advocate. She is the name and vision behind her former eponymous fashion line and is a woman who knows what she likes and makes quick decisions to get them.

But one thing she is not, she says, is a gallerist.

That hasn’t stopped her from wholeheartedly embracing her newest venture, Onna House, a private home in East Hampton that showcases the work of female artists and designers, which will open for its second season by appointment only on May 27.

“I was looking for my next move and this has really given me a purpose,” Perry said, adding, “This has really changed my life.”

On a wintry day in January 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Perry was at home in North Haven, scrolling Instagram and feeling antsy, when she stumbled across a post by The Creatives Agent — which specializes in midcentury modern properties in danger of being demolished — and immediately stopped.

The resemblance between this modernist, glass-and-steel home and her own childhood home outside of Chicago was uncanny, she said, and she found herself compelled to save it.

“It did not look the best, and it needed a lot of love,” she said. “But as soon as I saw it, I realized that this could be a fantastic next project.”

Initially, Perry set out to create a personal studio and collaborative space where she could meet with other like-minded creatives — and she approached the restoration from that perspective. Designed in 1962 by architect Paul Lester Wiener, the home still had great bones, she said, and she preserved many of the materials and architectural features to keep with its original language and Japanese influences, only gutting the kitchen and bathrooms.

As she dug into the history of the property, Perry learned that the original owners were none other than famous art collectors Robert and Ethel Scull, who had a deep affinity for Pop art, much like herself.

Out of that legacy and her collaboration with architect Christine Harper of Harper Design + Build — their 10th project together — Perry fully realized the beauty of the house and its gardens, which inspired the mission of Onna House to give visibility to female artists and designers.

“I thought that this would be a great time to have all of the things that I love and care about come together in this one project,” she said. “And so that is my love of architecture, my love of design, and my passion for helping women.”

Perry has filled the home with art and furniture created by women — some in the early stages of their careers, others more established, but all visionaries, she said, from around the globe.

But her search began in Japan, she said.

“I started with looking for artists that were lesser seen or needed visibility in Japan — because, as we know, that culture really has not focused on women for a long time,” she said. “That’s when I came to want to name the house. ‘Onna’ means ‘woman’ in Japanese.”

With a name, a mission and a growing art collection, Onna House was well underway when one of Perry’s friends offered his thoughts on the project — and pointed to the wealth of East End artists right under her nose.

“They really were not on my radar, and it was incredible,” Perry said. “Little by little, I started discovering the local artists and I started going to their studios, and it was just an absolute gift because as wonderful as the art is, the women are just fantastic.

“It was just a great, great thing that came together,” she continued. “So now I have artists in Onna House from all over the world, but most of the art is from local Hamptons artists.”

From May 27 through June 25, Perry will display “Pearls, Pills and Protests,” a group show that explores themes of power, sexism and women’s health through the lens of four female artists — Jerelyn Hanrahan, Kelly Chuning, Lulu Varona and Michelle Pred — against the backdrop of last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

In the permanent collection, East End artists on view include Almond Zigmund, Bastienne Schmidt, Claire Watson, Erica-Lynn Huberty, Janet Goleas, Toni Ross, Virva Hinnemo and more.

“Almond and Bastienne and Toni and all the local artists, they drop by and we have tea together. It’s great,” Perry said. “It’s really turned into this beautiful creative hub for the women.”

Looking ahead, the founder said she hopes that the space will come to host programming, such as artist talks, small concerts and dance, and even sees the concept of Onna House growing legs.

“As I discovered, Onna House can be anywhere,” she said. “It doesn’t just have to be at the home in East Hampton.”

Earlier this year, Perry debuted Onna House South, a private home nestled in Palm Beach, Florida, and is considering other projects both domestically and abroad — proving that Onna House is not only a place, but also a collection of ideas, a fount of creativity, and a state of mind.

“It has become that community that I was seeking at the very beginning: to be there and to collaborate and to have Onna House become this cool retreat or a place where artists and creatives would like to hang out,” she said, adding, “It just feels like this beautiful, beautiful female energy there, and I’m surrounded by it and I love it. It really brings me joy.”

The 2023 season at Onna House will kick off with the group show “Pearls, Pills and Protests” on May 27 in the East Hampton space, by appointment only, and will remain on view through June 25. For more information, visit onnahouse.com.