Since opening the new building in Water Mill in November, 2012, the Parrish has celebrated its anniversary by presenting a new installation of the permanent collection—a practice that affords multiple opportunities to reimagine the Museum’s 3,000 diverse holdings in painting, sculpture, and works on paper including photography.

These exhibitions provide a contemporary lens through which to view art works from the collection that are brought together in a new and unexpected context. This fifth installation, Materiality and Process, explores materials and the hand of the artist, bringing substance and gesture to the fore through a series of thematic mini-exhibitions introduced in the Esteban Vicente Foundation Gallery with Truth to Materials.

The works here have diverse characteristics but one common aspect--enthusiastic use of tactile materials and willing revelation of the physical process of art making. Truth to Materials features important new acquisitions including works by Josh Tonsfeldt and Kim MacConnel. Tonsfeldt’s sculpture Untitled, made with alligator hide, wood, acrylic, and glass, invites viewers to walk around, contemplate, and piece together the strategically placed sensual materials designed to evoke memory.

For Jingle, MacConnel paints an unprimed fabric that is cut into strips and sewn together to create a large wall hanging in jumpy Matisse-like patterns and colors. Truth to Materials features iconic works from the Parrish collection such as Alan Shields’s Devil, Devil Love, where painting is taken off the wall and canvas off the stretcher. Louise Nevelson’s Untitled, with intricately cut pieces and found objects, transcends space and transforms the viewer’s perception of art.