Over on Alewive Brook Road in East Hampton, there is a simple saltbox structure and studio with a provenance steeped in art. Artist Elaine de Kooning purchased the home in 1975 while she was reconciling with her husband Willem de Kooning. She added a sunroom and studio that would end up being the location where she would paint her last series of works, Bacchus and Cave Walls. When de Kooning passed away at age 70 in 1989, sculptor John Chamberlain purchased the house and lived there for around five years in the 1990s, creating his crushed car metal sculptures in the driveway.
The bucolic seaside location of the Hamptons has always been a place conducive for producing art; Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol all made work there, and when Chris Byrne, an art advisor and co-founder of the Dallas Art Fair, saw that the home was on the market in 2011, he envisioned a future where its new owners would forget its association with the art world, so he bought it. 'I was motivated by the house's history,' says Byrne. Since purchasing the house in 2010, he has made renovations, painstakingly preserving each of the modifications its former owners added.
'You get the feeling that anywhere in the house could be used to set up a portrait or make painting,' he says, noting that Willem also worked out of the house. Thus, Byrne turned the home into the location for an unofficial artist’s residency, inviting artists he knows to create work there.
Lizzi Bougatsos, Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Liz Markus, Scott and Tyson Reeder, John Riepenhoff, and Michael Williams are among the artists who have turned the de Kooning house into a temporary home and work space since 2011. There’s no formal application process for artists who are interested in participating in the residency there. 'The process has been completely organic; visiting artists and friends have recommended artists as well as proposed specific installations and projects for the space,' Byrne explains.
Byrne plans to keep de Kooning’s work as a mentor and teacher to young artists alive by continuing to cultivate creativity within the home. 'I’ve come to really respect her range of activities and generosity,' he says. 'My hope is to continue to make the space available to artists, curators and writers.'
The saltbox house was where de Kooning produced her last body of work before her death in 1989.
Art advisor and curator Chris Byrne bought the house in 2010 and has since transformed it into an unofficial artist's residency.
Lizzi Bougatsos, Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe and Liz Markus are among the artists who have lived and worked at the house. 'The process has been completely organic; visiting artists and friends have recommended artists as well as proposed specific installations and projects for the space,' said Byrne. Pictured: Anke Weyer and her work.
'I was motivated by the house's history,” said Byrne. 'You get the feeling that anywhere in the house could be used to set up a portrait or make painting.' Pictured: Tyler Reeder at work.
Artist Michael Williams takes his work out onto the grounds.
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2025 highlights: Auralee to Louis VuittonParis Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2025 began yesterday with Pharrell Williams’ celebration of a ‘friendship for life’ with streetwear legend Nigo. Reporting from Paris, Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss picks the best of the week, as it unfolds
-
We zoom in on Ontario Place, Toronto’s lake-defying 1971 modernist showpieceWe look back at Ontario Place, Toronto’s striking 1971 showpiece and modernist marvel with an uncertain future
-
‘It is a collaborative adventure, not a service provision’: Ilse Crawford on design as a tool for advancement and enhancementDesigner Ilse Crawford, founder of Studio Ilse and a revered shapeshifter in the industry, reflects on design in 2025 and finds cause for optimism
-
Sundance Film Festival 2025: The films we can't wait to watchSundance Film Festival, which runs 23 January - 2 February, has long been considered a hub of cinematic innovation. These are the ones to watch from this year’s premieres
-
What is RedNote? Inside the social media app drawing American users ahead of the US TikTok banDownloads of the Chinese-owned platform have spiked as US users look for an alternative to TikTok, which faces a ban on national security grounds. What is Rednote, and what are the implications of its ascent?
-
Architecture and the new world: The Brutalist reframes the American dreamBrady Corbet’s third feature film, The Brutalist, demonstrates how violence is a building block for ideology
-
Inside Luna Luna: the amusement park designed by artists lands in New York‘Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy’ – featuring rides by Basquiat, Lichtenstein, Hockney, Haring, and Dalí – has opened at The Shed
-
Henni Alftan’s paintings frame everyday moments in cinematic renditionsConcurrent exhibitions in New York and Shanghai celebrate the mesmerising mystery in Henni Alftan’s paintings
-
Brutalism in film: the beautiful house that forms the backdrop to The Room Next DoorThe Room Next Door's production designer discusses mood-boarding and scene-setting for a moving film about friendship, fragility and the final curtain
-
'There’s an anxiety under all of it': Violet Dennison in New YorkViolet Dennison debuts abstract paintings with new show 'Damaged Self' at Tara Downs Gallery
-
‘Gas Tank City’, a new monograph by Andrew Holmes, is a photorealist eye on the American West‘Gas Tank City’ chronicles the artist’s journey across truck-stop America, creating meticulous drawings of fleeting moments
