Josh Sperling Kicks Off an Artful Summer at The Surf Lodge

Though perhaps best known for the four-on-the-floor revelry that reverberates across its low-slung waterfront property, The Surf Lodge has cultivated a longstanding relationship with contemporary art. Hotelier and nightlife veteran Jayma Cardoso began expanding the Montauk destination’s cultural programming years ago, transforming it into a potent seasonal platform for artists, musicians, and other creative practitioners. Exhibitions by such buzzworthy artists as Richard Phillips, Daniel Arsham, and Jen Stark have appeared across the property as legendary performers Patti Smith and Willie Nelson have drawn carousing crowds to its stage.  

This summer, that commitment continues apace through a partnership with Ned’s Club, which has returned for a second season of artist residencies and intimate dinners that connect artists directly with members, collectors, and guests. The series debuted last year with Lauren Edelstein and Duncan Chamberlain—the son of sculptor John Chamberlain—and resumes this season with Josh Sperling, the Ithaca-based artist whose chromatic canvases and punchy furnishings have earned an avid following through solo exhibitions at Perrotin and appearances at fairs including Art Basel and Frieze. 

When Ned’s Club approached Sperling about the possibility of a residency at The Surf Lodge, he didn’t hesitate. The artist had never visited Montauk, yet the prospect of spending part of the summer by the water after New York’s prolonged winter held obvious appeal. “If I’m going to pick somewhere to have a show in the summer, why not here?” he says with a laugh from his second-floor hotel room shortly before the residency’s opening celebration. That evening, Canadian electronic duo Bob Moses performed on the deck overlooking Fort Pond. 

Sperling has installed six works throughout The Surf Lodge, drawing largely from existing pieces whose palettes and references resonate with the coastal setting. Among them is a concentric hexagonal canvas that flows ombré-style from earthy brown to verdant green, echoing the scrub pines, dunes, and salt-weathered terrain that backdrops a quintessential Montauk summer; other works evoke the colors of evening skies. Built from canvases stretched over hand-crafted plywood supports, Sperling’s paintings often distill architectural geometries into bold silhouettes rendered in saturated hues. Several recent works translate the gestural brushwork of Abstract Expressionism onto the artist’s signature swirl-shaped canvases—a direction Sperling links to Jackson Pollock’s fruitful years on Long Island, where the celebrated painter and his wife, fellow artist Lee Krasner, lived and worked during midcentury.  

After the performance, festivities continued with an intimate dinner that brought together Ned’s Club members, collectors, and fellow artists around a lavishly decorated table outside The Surf Lodge. Guests feasted on indulgent towers of oysters, littleneck clams, lobster, and shrimp cocktail before moving on to tuna tartare, New York strip steak finished with chimichurri, and grilled branzino. Behind them, a wall lined with Sperling’s vibrant, swirling prints cast the gathering in saturated hues and unabashed whimsy that complemented the easygoing atmosphere of a summer evening in Montauk. 

The residency arrives amid a busy season for the artist. Earlier this month, he attended the annual summer party at Phillip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, where one of his mirrors appeared in an Artsy benefit auction. He is also putting the finishing touches on a forthcoming collection of wooden furniture that carries forward the hexagonal motifs that have become a hallmark of his paintings.  

For Sperling, the greatest appeal of residencies like this lies in the opportunity to connect with people beyond the traditional art-world circuit. “It’s a way to reach a younger audience that potentially wouldn’t be going to the galleries,” he says. “It’s a totally different group of people, and I’m excited to introduce myself and my work.” Early interest indeed proved promising—by the time guests arrived for dinner, two of the six works had already sold.