Summer on the American east coast is largely characterised by one major migration pattern: weekly sojourns to eastern Long Island and the Hamptons. The Herzog & de Meuron-designed Parrish Art Museum, located in the town of Water Mill, takes full advantage of both weather and the crowds of the season by staging an exciting survey of site-specific art projects on water. Entitled ‘Radical Seafaring’, it is the first museum to do so; presenting a variety of experiments, journeys and installations in a range of disciplines within its stylish halls.
With work from 25 international artists and collectives on display, ‘Radical Seafaring’ represents a new mode of expression that addresses concerns such as changing weather patterns, rising sea levels and migratory changes. Andrea Grover, the Century Arts Foundation curator who organised the show, says, ‘The increasing number of works created on the water by contemporary artists is approaching the critical mass of a movement like land art. The "offshore art" projects represent a new form of expression that is especially powerful when one considers that half the world’s population live within 200 miles of a sea coast.’
The exhibition has been divided into four themes: exploration, liberation, fieldwork and speculation, which touch on the notions of self-reliance, gathering research on the environment, using waterways as a platform to build other realities and seeking out new experiences. With works by Chris Burden, Atelier Van Lieshout, Buckminster Fuller, Vik Muniz, Dennis Oppenheim and Swoon, spanning the period 1968–2016, the showcase is a poignant reminder of the world’s changing reality.
Entitled ‘Radical Seafaring’, the group exhibition encompasses a variety of experiments, journeys and installations in a range of disciplines. Pictured front: Protei 010.9 Mini Cargo, 2014, by Cesar Harada. From left to right: Curtains For The Free World, Photograph of Duke Riley in The Acorn Submarine and Items Salvaged from Vessel: Whale’s teeth believed to have been engraved by Gordon Davis while inside The Acorn vessel, by Duke Riley, 2007; Daisy Chain, by Michael Combs, 2016; Floating Pyramid, by Pedro Reyes, 2004
The exhibition captures a new mode of expression that address concerns such as changing weather patterns, rising sea levels and migratory changes. Pictured front: Breach #2, by Courtney M. Leonard, 2015, Protei 010.9 Mini Cargo, by Cesar Harada, 2014 (center) and Untitled, by Mare Liberum, 2014; You Made a Better Wall Than a Window, by Constance Hockaday, 2016 (behind)
Curator Andrea Grover says, ‘The increasing number of works created on the water by contemporary artists is approaching the critical mass of a movement like land art.’ Pictured: Triton City Model, by R Buckminster Fuller, 1968
She adds, ’The "offshore art" projects represent a new form of expression that is especially powerful when one considers that half the world’s population live within 200 miles of a sea coast.’ Pictured from left to right: The Ruins (Fort Tyler), Plum Island, North Brother Island and Gardiner’s Island, all by Scott Bluedorn, 2016; Hickory, by Swoon, 2009
The exhibition has been divided into four themes: exploration, liberation, fieldwork and speculation, all pointing to the world’s changing reality. Pictured: photos from posthumous performance of Floating Island to Travel Around Manhattan Island (two photographs from Minetta Brook/Whitney Museum of American Art production), and video from posthumous performance of Floating Island to Travel Around Manhattan Island, both by Robert Smithson, 2005
INFORMATION’Radical Seafaring’ is on view until 24 July. For more details, visit the Parrish Art Museum’s website Photography: Jenny Gorman. Courtesy the artists and Parrish Art MuseumADDRESSParrish Art Museum279 Montauk HighwayWater MillNew York, NY 11976
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