Sea, Sky, Sculpture Exhibit Is the Summer Show at the D'Amico House

When artist and curator Sally Richardson was asked by Chris Kohan, president of the D’Amico Institute, to curate the biennial exhibition at the D’Amico House in Napeague for this year, she excitedly got to work. Starting off with a big group of artists, she slowly whittled it down to pieces she thought were best for the seaside show.

That show, “Sea, Sky, Sculpture: An Integration of Art, Architecture and Landscape,” ​is open now at the D’Amico House and remains on view through September 22.

“I wanted to select artists that captured the imagination of this place,” Richardson said. She added that in choosing specifics, she visited each artist’s studio and selected the piece she thought best fit in the exhibit’s outdoor location.

The place in question is the D’Amico House, deep on Shore Road in the Napeague area of Amagansett, where artists Victor and Mabel D’Amico lived from 1940 until their deaths in 1989 and 1998 respectively. In addition Victor D’Amico, who was founding director of the Department of Education of the Museum of Modern Art, founded the nearby Art Barge in 1960. Located just off the Napeague Stretch, the Art Barge is still a place for art classes and exhibitions and was created from an old Navy barge that had been towed from Jersey City and beached on a piece of property on Napeague Harbor that was originally owned by Mabel D’Amico, an artist and art educator. The Art Barge sits just five minutes from the D’Amico House itself.

Situated directly on the water across from Gardiner’s Bay, nobody lives in the D’Amico House anymore. Instead, it serves as a museum under the monniker The D’Amico Studio and Archive. The three-building property, consisting of the D’Amico House, the Brook Cottage and the Oyster Watcher’s Hut, is an idyllic locale for art. The contrast of grassy field and paved stone against sand and sun provides the perfect atmosphere to appreciate the beautiful art.

The summer 2024 exhibition is aptly titled “Sea, Sky, Sculpture: An Integration of Art, Architecture and Landscape.” It brings together a mix of metalwork, ceramics, paint on wood and carved pieces and includes artists such as Pino Daddi, Saskia Friedrich, Mica Marder, Laurie Lambrecht and Sally Richardson herself.

When asked how she situated and placed each piece for the exhibition, Richardson responded that she “wanted them to work from every angle.” For example, a piece by Chuck Manion titled “The Squid” can be viewed beautifully from both the front and the back.

“It looks like it climbed its way out of the water, over the bushes and landed here,” Richardson said.

“United Kingdoms,” a ceramic piece by James Salaiz, is situated in what feels like the center most point of the property, gazing out over the water. The white clay formations shine in the sunlight and tiny pieces of sea glass, which Salaiz put into the clay before it was fired, can be seen close up.

“I love his piece in this spot because it looks like coral or sandcastles,” Richardson said. “It’s like a fairy tale.”

Across from Salaiz’s piece sits a work made entirely of found objects by East End artist Mica Marder. It has been placed next to a collection of objects that Mabel D’Amico built over many years to use for her art.

“I love Mica’s piece right next door to Mabel’s pile,” Richardson said. “It looks like he could’ve selected those elements and put them into his piece.”

Richardson’s own piece for the show is titled “Shipwrights Wife,” and is made entirely out of smoothed Indiana limestone. It is placed on a small tree stump and surrounded by greenery. The shadows hit its curves from all angles. Richardson appreciates the way the piece seems to be “gazing out to sea,” just as a shipwright’s wife would have.

Two artists, John Pominowski and Sabra Moon Eliot, created pieces specifically for this show. Pominowski’s piece, which is untitled, is a sculpture created out of beach metal and driftwood and it stands out in a path of dirt amid the tall grasses.

“John and I met a few times in Montauk prior to him creating his piece which was made from objects found on Montauk beaches,” Richardson explained.

“The wagon wheel element was given to him by one of the other participating artists, Chuck Manion,” she added.

Eliot’s artwork, “Peace and Sky,” is constructed from wood and painted over in pastel colors with oil paint. The geometric installation sits in the sun surrounded by bushes, which amplify its colors.

“Sabra’s work is vibrant, and I knew whatever she chose to create would be right at home in Lazy Point,” Richardson said. “She used colors in her piece such as pinks, blues, silvers and oranges to capture the light that bounces off the water and sky in that location.”

“Sea Sky Sculpture” celebrates individualism and unique vision in art, and elegantly mixes styles and interpretations,” Richardson said. “It’s a beautiful addition to the summer art season and amplifies perfectly Mabel D’Amico’s idea that ‘we can all create; creation adds to our life.’”

“Sea, Sky, Sculpture: An Integration of Art, Architecture and Landscape,” curated by Sally Richardson, is on view at the D’Amico Studio and Archive, 128 Shore Road, Amagansett until September 22. Visit damico-art.org for more information.