LongHouse Reserve hosted its annual Summer Gala at their 16-acre East Hampton grounds on Saturday, July 16 honoring artist, Dale Chihuly, with the LongHouse Award and LongHouse Patron, Barbara Slifka, with the LongHouse Art Leadership Award. This year’s gala raised $400,000 to support the LongHouse Reserve’s mission to exemplify living with art in all forms – a mission Jack Lenor Larsen, one of the world’s foremost advocates of traditional and contemporary crafts began in 1991.

Dale Chihuly creates free standing glass sculptures, large-scale artwork installations, drawings, and paintings which have been exhibited in museums, gardens, architectural environments, and galleries throughout the world. Touted as one of the most famous living artists in the world, Chihuly’s works have been collected by over 200 museums and can be seen around the globe from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Ninety—seven exhibitions in seven countries have presented Chihuly artworks during the last decade, which have been enjoyed by over 10 million visitors.

This year’s gala celebrated LongHouse’s 20th Anniversary and was the most exciting yet. The theme of this year’s event was White Hot and Blue, highlighting the colors turquoise, cobalt and sapphire and as always the attire was festive. Dale Chihuly created three very special glass installations specifically for this year’s Gala, reflecting the theme of the evening and will be displayed at LongHouse throughout the season. The glass installations are titled: Blue and Purple Boat, 2006-2011; White Belugas, 2008; Neodymium Reeds, 2011.

During the gala, a special performance by principals of the New York City Ballet took place at one of LongHouse’s beautiful gardens. A special addition to the evening’s entertainment included a solo performance by artist Illenk Gentille Andilolo from, “I La Galigo”, a musical-theater work by acclaimed artist and choreographer, Robert Wilson. Also for the first time this year, the Big Apple Circus performers entertained guests during cocktails.

About LongHouse Reserve:
LongHouse Reserve exemplifies living with art in all its forms. Founded by Jack Lenor Larsen, its collections, gardens, sculpture and programs reflect world cultures and inspire a creative life. LongHouse Reserve is a not-for-profit museum that encompasses nearly 16 beautiful acres in East Hampton, New York. Each year the LongHouse Reserve presents major exhibitions in both the pavilion and the gardens. Currently, there are more than 60 sculptures for the gardens including works of glass by Dale Chihuly, ceramics by Takaezu, and bronzes by Barceló, Voulkos, Benglis and de Kooning. Works by Ossorio, Claus Bury, Yoko Ono, Opocensky, Izumi Masatoshi, Bryn Hunt, Eric Fischl, Roy Lichtenstein and Takashi Soga are also on view, while the installation of a Fly’s Eye Dome designed by Buckminster Fuller and a site-specific Sol Lewitt add interesting scale and dimension. www.longhouse.org.

*LongHouse Reserve will be open from April 30 to October 8, Weds & Sat, 2-5pm, and Weds through Sat, 2-5pm July & August