Dan’s Papers April 15, 2011 danshamptons.com Page 28
Flaming Worlds of Art at Parrish By Elise D’Haene Whether providence or karma, sometimes there is a confluence of events and seemingly chance encounters that lead to the birth of something immense. In 1967, a tour de force novel, A Sport and a Pastime, by James Salter was published. Salter, who is now 85-years-old and lives parttime in Bridgehampton, told an explosive story of erotic realism, illuminating, as one critic put it, the “dark sky of sex,” creating “a small, flaming world of sensualism” with the “force of a hundred repressed fantasies.” Critics compared Salter’s writing to that of Flannery O’Connor, Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and John Cheever. Over 40 years later, Juliao Sarmento, a visual artist of much acclaim in Europe who lives in Estoril, Portugal, began a series of collagebased works incorporating sketches and excerpts from authors that inspired him, among them, James Salter. Terrie Sultan, the director and curator at the Parrish Art Museum, happened to know both men. She first came across Sarmento’s work at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. in 1999. She was struck by his work “on a very visceral level. He creates these mysterious, open-ended narratives, and I felt an immediate connection to it. I made it my business to get to know him.” And so she did. When she learned about the series Sarmento was doing, she told him she knew James Salter and asked him if he’d like to meet the author.
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The artist was thrilled. When Salter and Sarmento met, “They got along like a house of fire right away,” Sultan said. This confluence has led to the Parrish Art Museum’s upcoming exhibit “Juliao Sarmento: Artists and Writers/House and Home,” curated by Sultan. In many ways, organizing this exhibit reflects her stated goal when she came on board there in 2008, to expand the museum’s global reach, pairing the work of Sarmento from Portugal with the writings of a renowned American author like Salter. Language, writing and a sense of place have figured prominently in Sarmento’s work, as do the themes he shares with the writer of love, desire and death. “Sarmento is an avid reader,” Sultan said, “and has a library the size of the Ritz Carlton.” Sultan will moderate a discussion between Sarmento and Salter on Saturday, April 16, at 6 p.m., as part of the opening reception. On Sunday, April 17, at 5 p.m., Laurie Anderson (who, serendipitously is a friend of Sarmento’s) will read the short story “Raphael,” written for the exhibit by Salter. Anderson, a renowned and daring artist, lives part time in East Hampton with her partner the musician Lou Reed. Sultan and the Parrish have brought together a powerful triad—Sarmento, Salter, Anderson—they all stand on same transgressive, taboo, and transformative ground, and each in their own way has spent their lives creating “small, flaming” worlds of art.
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The Retreat recently announced the winners of its Third Annual Juried Art Show, their work will be featured in a group show at the Kathryn Markel Fine Arts Gallery in Bridgehampton April 30 through May 7. Winning artists included Shari Abramson, Betsy Bart, Deb Bronston-Culp, Mary Daunt, Anthony D’Avino, Thomas Denaro, Catherine Eldridge, Glenn Fischer, Ginny Fox, Kristina Gale, Don Haggerty and more. The event raised $15,000 for The Retreat. * * * Grant Wilfley Casting is looking for “upscale Hamptonites” to appear as vacationers, nightlife patrons, boaters and beachgoers on “Royal Pains.” Those interested should email rps3@gwcnyc.com with a recent photo, height, weight and contact information. And if you have access to a luxury vehicle, mention that, too. * * * Kim Cattrall recently told Ellen DeGeneres that she’s back on the dating market at 54, looking for Mr. Right. She further confided that “Writing a book about the female orgasm didn’t help my dating career either.” * * * Steve Kroft of “60 Minutes,” former budget director Peter Orszag and renowned Harvard physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer will address global challenges in health and human rights this Saturday at the Hampton Institute in Partnership with the Roosevelt Institute. Guild Hall, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., guildhall.org
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