As the mercury rises and the New York art world slows to a crawl, those who can head for the Hamptons, where a swimwear-clad doppelganger art world springs to life every summer. Out on Long Island, the pace this year will be set by the trio of art fairs trying to take advantage of the season's confluence of affluent vacationers in the tony villages, as well as the customary benefit parties and the like. To give a sense of what awaits, ARTINFO has rounded up a few of the most notable events in July. Mark you calendars.
The 18th Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit / The 18th Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit
-- ArtHamptons, July 12-15
Now in its fourth year, this Southampton-based fair has grown to feature nearly 80 exhibitors, necessitating a move to a larger venue. This year it lands at Sculpture Fields of Nova's Ark in Bridgehampton, and its theme is the centennial of Jackson Pollock's birth. Accordingly, the Friday night party benefits the Pollock-Kranser House and Study Center.
-- Parrish Art Museum Mid-Summer Party, July 14
As the well-known Hamptons museum prepares to relocate from Southampton to Water Mill, it's holding its annual summer benefit at the site of its future home, with honorees including Chuck Close and choreographer Paul Taylor. Attendees who splurge on a whole table will get an extra-special treat: a champagne "hard-hat" tour of the Parrish's new home with its director, Terrie Sultan.
-- artMRKT Hamptons, July 19-22
Another way to help out the Parrish is to attend the evening preview of artMRKT Hamptons on July 19, whose $100 tickets benefit the local museum. The Bridgehampton-based fair, now in its second year, boasts a curated selection of 40 galleries from throughout the U.S., with one international participant -- Firenze's Arte Nova -- for good measure.
-- Art Southampton, July 26-30
Art Miami's new Hamptons venture (see our interview with director Nick Korniloff on the new initiative, here) caps a month of art fairs, debuting with some 50 galleries and an opening night VIP preview on the 26th benefitting Southampton Hospital. The fair's 75,000-square-foot pavilion will be erected behind the Southampton Elks Lodge.
-- Watermill Center Summer Benefit, July 28
Robert Wilson's East End institution's 19th annual benefit party also marks the opening of the museum's posthumous Mike Kelley retrospective, "Mike Kelley 1954-2012." Get an early look at the show and bid in the silent auction -- but stick around for the live auction hosted by Simon de Pury. Works available to benefit the Center will include pieces by E.V. Day, Robert Lazzarini, Dennis Oppenheim, Will Ryman, Lola Schnabel, Spencer Tunick, the inimitable Wilson himself, and many more. The wild party's many installations and performances will be realized by an international cast of artists throughout the Center's eight-acre grounds.
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