Internationally Renowned Textile Designer To Be Featured At Hamptons Conversation Series

“This program featuring our renowned and admired neighbor Jack Lenor Larsen supports the Parrish’s mission to present artist-driven programming, and illuminate the creative process,” said Parrish Art Museum Curator of Special Projects, Andrea Grover.

Jack Lenor Larsen. (Photo: Shonna Valeska)

On Friday, January 16th at 6 p.m., the Parrish Art Museum will welcome internationally renowned textile designer, author, and collector Jack Lenor Larsen to their conversation series. Parrish Art Museum Director Terrie Sultan will lead the discussion, where Larsen, who founded LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton, will speak about the intersection of art, craft, and design.

The accomplished art advocate founded his self-named textile company in 1952. It became a source for signature materials, which started with his award-winning hand-woven works of natural yarns in random repeats. Since the 1950s, Larsen has created thousands of fabric patterns and textiles, many of which are associated with the modernist architecture of the time. He is credited with introducing the American public to the techniques of ikat and batik, and his resume also includes designing fabrics for corporations like PanAm Airlines as well as private clients including Marilyn Monroe. Larsen is one of only four Americans honored with an exhibition at the Palais du Louvre, and his fabrics are in permanent collections at museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Victoria & Albert Museum in London,The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, and Stedelikj Museum of Art in Amsterdam.

LongHouse Reserve was created by Larsen as a case study to illustrate an out of the box approach to contemporary life. The 16-acre property presents the designed landscape as an art form and offers a variety of sites for sculpture installations, which come from a collection of over 60 contemporary sculptures including works by Alexander Calder, Dale Chihuly, Eric Fischl, Willem de Kooning, Gaston Lachaise, Sol LeWitt, and Yoko Ono. Its impressive four-level, 13,000 square foot building was inspired by the Japanese shrine at Ise and features 18 separate spaces.

The conversation program is in conjunction with Parrish Art special exhibitions Steven and William Ladd: Mary Queen of the Universe, and Alan Shields: In Motion, which incorporate craft practices such as beading, sewing, and weaving as well as other nontraditional techniques and materials.

Parrish Art Museum is located at 279 Montauk Highway in Water Mill. For more information, call 631-283-2118 or visit parrishart.org.