East Hampton's Guild Hall Gets Some New Walls

This Friday, Guild Hall revealed its new exhibit with a cocktail hour at the theater, followed by a private dinner at the oceanfront home of Julie and Bobby Taubman. Leaving little open for interpretation, Barbara Kruger's "Plenty" got her message out to Hamptonites loud and clear.

Giving an poignant view on money and wealth, especially considering the undoubtedly high combined net worth of the guests at the exhibit's opening, Kruger certainly didn't hold back in voicing her opinions on the walls of Guild Hall. In all caps Helvetica spanning the four walls of the room, the black letters read:

"MONEY MAKES MONEY AND A RICH MAN'S JOKES ARE ALWAYS FUNNY"

Look up and you'll see another message to all the wealthy Hamptonites making their way through Guild Hall:

"YOU WANT IT. YOU NEED IT. YOU BUY IT. YOU FORGET IT."

The artist addresses the mindless and wasteful consumerism of our times, a notion all to familiar to critics of the Hamptons. Kruger is very well-known in the art world for her fearless messages in an impossible-to-miss style. The exhibit will be on display at Guild Hall until October 11th.

Following the vernissage, guests were welcomed at the Taubman's estate for cocktails, dinner, dancing, and a silent auction. Alec Baldwin, a frequent guest at many the Hamptons event, was in attendance with Claire Evans. Sponsored in part by Van Cleef & Arpels, guests perused a display of jewelry as well as art works by the likes of Larry Rivers, Cindy Sherman, Elizabeth Peyton, and Richard Price, then proceeded to dinner and dancing to the music of Peter Duchin and his orchestra.