LongHouse Reserve founder Jack Lenor Larsen. (Douglas Harrington)

East Hampton - The art Eden known as LongHouse Reserve celebrated its 20th Anniversary in the Hamptons last week as visual, performance and environmental art all came together in a glorious celebration, with a few clowns thrown in for good measure!

Created in the early 1990s by legendary art patron, mentor and designer Jack Lenor Larsen, its collections, gardens, sculpture and programs reflect world cultures and inspire a creative life. The 16-acre art oasis currently has more than 60 sculptures for the gardens including works of glass by Chihuly, ceramics by Takaezu, and bronzes by Barceló, Voulkos, Benglis and de Kooning. Also on view are works by Ossorio, Claus Bury, Yoko Ono, Opocensky, Izumi Masatoshi, Bryn Hunt, Eric Fischl, Roy Lichtenstein, Takashi Soga and Buckminster Fuller.

This year's summer gala honored glass artist Dale Chihuly with its Longhouse Award who created a pair of special glass installations for the event and patron Barbara Slifka with the LongHouse Art Leadership Award for her unwavering support for the art reserve. The awards presentation took place during a delicious and dazzling sit down alfresco dinner with Slifka in attendance and Chiculy accepting his award via satellite on several wide screens surrounding the dining area.
Prior to dinner, guests enjoyed performances by principal members of the New York City Ballet and during the cocktail party were treated to various forms of entertainment by wandering clowns and performers from the Big Apple Circus. The theme of this year's gala was "White Hot and Blue," with almost all the guests reflecting the suggested evening's dress of "dazzling blues and hot whites."


Notable attendees at this year's gala included Edward Albee, Laurie Anderson, Charlie Cowles, Robert Currie, Roberto Dutesco, Amy and Adam Forbes, Lisa de Kooning, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Richard Meier, Jeffrey Niemer, Ralph Pucci, Ambassador Carl Spielvogel and Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Fern andLenard Tessler, Alexandra Monroe and Robert Rosenkranz, Annaliese Soros, Terrie Sultan, Cindy Sherman, Tina-Maria Birch, Diane B., and Robert Wilson.

LongHouse Reserve Leadership Award honoree Barbara Slifka with presenter Dean James Morton.

The LongHouse gallery was filled with donated art from local and international artists as part of the evening's silent auction, with guests registering their bids on hand held electronic devices. Highlights of the live auction items included an original composition by Laurie Anderson that went for $4,500 and a ceramic dinner service for 12 by Yoshiaki Yuki that sold for $19,000.

During the dinner guests were treated to a surprise performance of artist/choreographer Robert Wilson's "I La Galigo" by Indonesian artist Illenk Gentille Andilolo. The piece was introduced by Wilson himself, whose Watermill Center will be holding its annual gala on August 30 in celebration of the artist's 70th birthday.

Commenting on the evening and the 20 year journey of the reserve, which now boasts 10,000 visitors a year, LongHouse founder Larsen told Hamptons.com, "It has grown faster and larger than I ever intended. I built the garden and the house to share as what I always thought would be a public garden, but we have more staff, more visitors, more everything than I ever imagined." Regarding the outpouring of support from artists with their donations and the volume of bidding on the silent auction items Larson noted, "It is the best we have had, we are using only one gallery this year, but it is better and I am told the results are better."

For 20 years the LongHouse Reserve has been educating generations of children with art and nature in an environment that is a true oasis for art lovers of any age. It is indeed the art Eden of the Hamptons.