Art's Experimental Arc

Bent Out of Shape
A pioneer in post-minimalism, conceptual, performance and video art, NYC- and Bridgehampton-based Keith Sonnier gets his first solo exhibit at an American museum in 35 years. Keith Sonnier: Until Today at Parrish Art Museum is a 38-piece study of the artist’s twisted neon tube light sculptures, sound installations and large-scale works rarely seen in the United States and influenced by cultures as diverse as India and Japan. The exhibition maps Sonnier’s evolution. “Rat Tail Exercise” (1968) showcases his use of nontraditional materials like string and latex (they were considered sensual compared to his postmodernist compatriots’ industrial works). “Palm: Saw Tooth Blatt” (2004), on the other hand, fashions harder-to-manipulate neon lights into a palm leaf-esque wall sculpture based on drawings Sonnier made in a New Orleans garden. Each work emphasizes the artist’s groundbreaking experimentation and an imagination that has only grown more complex and boundary-pushing over the decades. July 1 to Jan. 27, 2019, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill