Parrish Art Museum — Attraction in Town of Southampton

Awful Architecture Inside and Out! I agree with another reviewer - it is like being at a concentration camp - I always feel like I have to make a run to the car as I make my escape before the machine guns open up. And the wasted use of interior space is appalling. The center of the building oppressively points down with heavy wooden beams all the way down in the dark pathway to the exhibition rooms - the tall, distracting, unpainted plywood ceiling, the sparse natural light, the small rooms even though the museum is so long, the ugly, ugly artificial light, all in an area of intensely, beautiful, natural light - and all of this as a slap in the face of the gorgeous former museum, that still sits wonderfully in town, the classic museum, that seems to have as much space as the space set aside in this long, boring new building. Frank Lloyd Wright would have condemned this new museum before it got off the drawing board. Yes, shame on the waste and poor planning of those in charge. Now we have to live with this? If only the Fairfield Porter collection could have been kept in the old museum, within walking distance of his former home, and within the spirit of his lovely town. Thankfully, the old museum is now being used by an art group - so worth a visit there again - just to be in that superior space. I fondly remember an Alex Katz exhibit there, and a Pop Art exhibition too that was currated by Henry Geldzahler - and other fine shows. I hate this museum, which is very painful to say, but I do - just the thought of it always...

Underwhelming. Worth visiting if you love art, but plan to spend one hour maximum.

The collection was nice enough. No blockbusters for the mass tourist population, but casual art lovers will recognize the names of artists represented. The Leo Villareal installation in the lobby is the mesmerizing highlight. I did appreciate the thoughtful/intellectual tone of the wall text and overall curatorial perspective. The grounds are virtually empty - a disappointing waste of space where the sculpture garden should be.

The building is a depressing dud. In our era of expressive museum architecture, this building is a black joyless tragedy.

The shape is a riff on traditional rural architecture - a shed for art. I'm sure the famous European architects in charge of the design were proud of themselves for "nailing" rural American architecture. And they did. But instead of elevating or transforming that typology, the interpretation is too literal. It can only seem interesting to those who don't really know the buildings they are copying. There are a few nice-ish moments, but most of the detailing is basic. The most amusing failure is a concrete bench that curves out from the wall and extends the length of the building. It's a mediocre bench, and it looks out over a weedy, artless field. A fitting summary of the entire...

The Parrish Art Museum is an unexpected space and the grounds it stands on are just interesting. It sound silly to say out loud but, when we visited, the grounds happily did not meet my expectations. They reminded me more of a nature preserve than the opening fanfare to an art gallery. Oversize doors lead into a large foyer and to a lobby that actually takes a moment to cross. The works and displays are well shown. Some of the pieces occupy entire walls and each of the smaller gallerys are themed for a given artist, technique and/or period. The a small cafe and gift shop are unobtrusive and are found to the left and right of the lobby, respectively. The people working at Parrish Art Museum are professional, helpful and very, very patient. I'm not one to make a special trip a museum or gallery though I usually enjoy myself once there. I enjoyed my time at the Parrish Art Museum. It was fun to check out the exhibits but also fun to watch the other patrons as one piece or another...