Oysters and Martinis at Rashid Johnson’s Pool Party in The Hamptons - New York Times
The artist, and his wife, Sheree Hovsepian, hosted a party at their East Hampton home on Saturday to benefit Creative Time, a public art nonprofit that is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
On a quiet road in East Hampton, N.Y., on Saturday evening, cars pulled up outside the artist Rashid Johnson’s home as a pool party kicked off inside the property. Exiting the cars, handing off keys to valets, was a procession of art-world players, philanthropists and socialites wearing sun hats.
The gathering at Mr. Johnson’s majestic country home was a fund-raiser celebrating the 50th anniversary of Creative Time, a public art nonprofit that has produced projects like Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/arts/design/a-subtlety-or-the-marvelous-sugar-baby-at-the-domino-plant.html)” at the Domino Sugar factory and “Tribute in Light (https://creativetime.org/projects/tribute-in-light/),” which commemorated the Sept. 11 attacks with two towering beams of light.
Wearing white sneakers and white pants, Mr. Johnson (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/23/arts/design/rashid-johnson-met-opera-mosaic.html) savored a moment’s peace in his living room as guests started streaming into the house. Its walls were lined with works by Sam Gilliam, David Hammons and Bob Thompson, as well as some of his own works and those of his wife, Sheree Hovsepian.
Mr. Johnson collaborated with Creative Time (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/19/arts/design/creative-time.html) in 2021 to produce “Red Stage (https://www.curbed.com/2021/06/rashid-johnson-welcomes-you-to-his-red-stage-on-astor-place.html),” a festival-like music and cultural gathering held during the pandemic in Manhattan’s East Village as the city opened back up, and he reflected on the significance of the organization’s 50th anniversary.
“Creative Time lets artists dream big without confinement,” Mr. Johnson said. “It allows artists to challenge the public with works of scale and to be given the public space to engage society in discourse. Artists trust it because of that.”
As artists like Sanford Biggers, Robert Longo, Joel Mesler and Jill Magid sauntered into the pool party, the evening grew lively.
Servers offered cocktails like “Evening Refrain,” a sake-based vesper martini, and hors d’oeuvres like tartar made with Montauk-caught tuna and oysters dressed three ways: with gin, with chili oil and with crème fraîche.
“Creative Time consistently pursues ambitious, sometimes even risky projects,” Mr. Biggers said. “And anytime there’s a new one, people line up to see it. Kara Walker’s installation remains a personal favorite. The scale of it, the sensitivity of it, the tension of it.”
Brooke Garber Neidich (https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/news/a6184/brooke-garber-child-mind-institute/), a philanthropist and the creative director of the jewelry house Sidney Garber, considered the nonprofit’s longevity. “It’s a difficult time for the arts in New York right now, and thankfully they’re still thriving,” she said. “They bring exhibitions to the table that no one else is willing to produce.”
Her son, Jon Neidich (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/29/style/jon-neidich-the-nines.html), who founded Golden Age Hospitality and runs restaurants like Le Dive and The Nines, is the board chair for Creative Time; he helped host the fund-raiser. He hung out by a billiards table, chatting with Mr. Johnson.
Storm Ascher, the artist, and Justine Ludwig, the executive director of Creative Time.
Credit...
Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times
The clinking of glass silenced the crowd as Justine Ludwig, the nonprofit’s executive director, stood up to offer remarks.
“There’s something so wonderful about being able to say that we’re 50 and that we’re still transgressive and that we’re still cutting-edge,” she said, citing Charles Gaines’s recent sculpture “Moving Chains (https://creativetime.org/american-manifest-part-two/).” “And, Rashid, it’s such a joy to be able to celebrate today in your and Sheree’s beautiful home.”
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Mr. Johnson nodded from his veranda as the crowd applauded. (His family’s residences have appeared (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/t-magazine/rashid-johnson-sheree-hovsepian-home.html) in lush spreads for Architectural Digest and T: The New York Times Style Magazine.)
Then Ms. Ludwig gently reminded guests that they were at a fund-raiser, noting that they could make donation pledges via text message.
As the party wound down, while attendees made their way back to the valet line outside, Ms. Hovsepian led a few guests on a tour of her home, showing them a family por
trait that Julian Schnabel (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/t-magazine/art/julian-schnabel-paintings-pace-gallery-show.html) created for her, Mr. Johnson and their son, Julius, last year.
The three portraits, each made with paint and shattered (https://www.julianschnabel.com/paintings/plate-paintings) plates, lined a dining room wall. She reminisced about how her son struggled with sitting still in Mr. Schnabel’s studio.
“He was 11 and he didn’t love having to pose and be still,” Ms. Hovsepian said. “He just wanted to be on his phone. But I’ve told him, I know that he will appreciate this one day.”
Alex Vadukul (https://www.nytimes.com/by/alex-vadukul) is a features writer for the Styles section of The Times, specializing in stories about New York City. More about Alex Vadukul (https://www.nytimes.com/by/alex-vadukul)
