Guild Hall Presents Claire Watson & Arcmanoro Niles
Artists Rooted in East Hampton to Kick Off Summer Season
May 3 to July 16, 2026
Members Opening Saturday, May 2 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM
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Guild Hall (158 Main Street, East Hampton, NY) proudly announces two new early summer exhibitions that highlight the institution’s long-standing commitment to fostering artistic practice and supporting artists at pivotal moments in their careers. The presentations include a solo exhibition by Claire Watson, recipient of the Top Honors award from the Guild Hall Artist Members Exhibition, and a major exhibition by Arcmanoro Niles, marking the 10-year anniversary of Guild Hall’s Artist-in-Residence program.
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Claire Watson, Ancestors Say, 2014-2017. Ten pairs of black and ten pairs of white kid gloves, thread; mounted on linen, 48 x 32 inches (framed). Courtesy of the artist and The Drawing Room Gallery.
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Claire Watson: Re-Paired
Marks Family South Gallery
May 3 – July 19, 2026
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Claire Watson is the 2023 Top Honors recipient of the 84th Artist Members Exhibition, selected by Virginia Lebermann, cofounder and board president of Ballroom Marfa. This exhibition marks Watson’s first major institutional solo presentation on the East End of Long Island, where she has maintained a home and studio in Water Mill for three decades.
Watson’s sculptures and mixed-media assemblages are composed from found materials. In her recent work, she deconstructs salvaged leather garments and reconfigures them into new formal compositions using traditional sewing and pattern-making techniques. These works highlight the tactile and structural qualities of leather, transforming utilitarian objects into forms with renewed expressive potential. The traces of wear embedded in the garments suggest histories of the body and labor, which Watson refashions into abstract meditations on human form and presence. The exhibition spans more than a decade, from 2012 to the present, and features over fifteen works in two and three dimensions.
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Exhibition Walkthrough & Artist Talk: Claire Watson
Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Time: 7:30 – 8:30 PM
$12 / $10 for Seniors, 65+
Free for Members, Children, and Students
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Join artist Claire Watson and Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts, for a walkthrough of Watson’s solo exhibition Re-Paired. some text in here
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Arcmanoro Niles, The Classroom, 2017. Oil, acrylic, glitter on canvas, 52 x 68 x 1 ½ inches. Collection of Jonathan Travis. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Seoul, and London.
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Arcmanoro Niles: Forgotten Words I Never Got to Say
Marks Family North Gallery & Tito Spiga Exhibition Space
May 3 – July 19, 2026
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Arcmanoro Niles: Forgotten Words I Never Got to Say traces the evolution in the artist’s practice since his 2016 residency at Guild Hall, the inaugural program of our Artist-in-Residence initiative. Known for his saturated color, reflective surfaces, and emotionally charged scenes drawn from daily life and memory, Niles has developed a distinctive visual language that challenges conventions of portraiture.
Early in his career, he became frustrated with traditional methods of rendering skin tone, finding they lacked the depth and dimension he observed in real life. This led him to experiment with color—layering pinks, oranges, and purples to evoke an internal light. His chiaroscuro-like approach reveals both a dedication to craft and a palette that defines his work across portraits, domestic interiors, and landscapes.
Guild Hall is pleased to present Niles’s first solo museum presentation. The exhibition features a selection of over 20 works from 2009 to the present, highlighting the growth and complexity of Niles’s practice.
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In Conversation: Arcmanoro Niles & Eric Fischl moderated by J. Cabelle Ahn, PhD
Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2026
Time: 7:30 – 8:30 PM
$30, $27 for members
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Join artists Arcmanoro Niles and Eric Fischl for a moderated conversation by J. Cabelle Ahn, PhD, as they discuss topics related to their practices and the history of painting.
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Galleries are open Thursday to Sunday, 12-5 PM (Wednesday to Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day), and museum admission is $12/$10 for Seniors 65+, and Free for Guild Hall members, children, and students. Membership details found HERE.
These exhibitions are organized by Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts, with support from Philippa Content, museum manager and registrar, and Claire Hunter, museum coordinator and curatorial associate.
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EXHIBITION SPONSORS
Arcmanoro Niles: Forgotten Words I Never Got to Say
Principal Sponsor: The Tessler Family
Lead Sponsors: Bernard I. Lumpkin and Carmine D. Boccuzzi
Additional Support: Phyllis Hollis
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Visual Arts programs are supported by lead funding from Lucio and Joan Noto, with additional support provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane, The Michael Lynne Museum Endowment, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, The Giuppy Nantista Fund, and The Hoie Fund.
Additional support provided by Friends of the Museum:
Shari and Jeff Aronson, The Artist Profile Archive, William L. Bernhard, Elizabeth Gordon and Woody Heller, The Hayden Family Foundation, Robert Longo and Sophie Chahinian, Elin and Michael Nierenberg, Onna House, Lori and John Reinsberg, Jeff and Audrey Spiegel, Hillary and Jeff Suchman, Jane Wesman and Don Savelson, and Yurman Family Foundation.
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ABOUT GUILD HALL
Guild Hall is the cultural heart of the East End: a museum, performing arts, and education center, founded in 1931. We invite everyone to experience the endless possibilities of the arts: to open minds to what art can be; inspire creativity and conversation; and have fun.
Guild Hall has served four generations and introduced audiences to the most storied artists and performers of our time. As we approach our centennial, we have completed a state-of-the-art renovation to match the caliber of our artistry for twenty-first-century audiences. The facility-wide Capital Improvements Project & Campaign includes top-of-the-line physical and technological enhancements to better deliver on our mission as an artist-driven, interdisciplinary institution.
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For more information, visit www.guildhall.org or follow Guild Hall on Instagram at @GUILD_HALL and Facebook.
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