Step Inside The Hamptons' Latest Gallery: The Onna House

Welcome to the Onna House, the Hamptons' latest gallery that spotlights the work of women artists around the world.

The guesthouse features floor-to-ceiling windows and a natural aesthetic

A true artist’s oasis, Onna House brings life back to the East End with its modern twist on the traditional gallery. Showcasing the work of women-identifying artists and designers, the recently restored 1960s home will serve as a private studio space for its artists to discover and collaborate. With no set hours, the gallery invites specific groups who are interested in art and architecture to the house, while others can make an appointment. “The Hamptons is the perfect place for Onna House because the best collectors in the world live or pass through the area,” says founder Lisa Perry. “When starting a new home project, I always consider the location and the style of architecture and I get a feel for the overall vibe. This time, a larger mission to help lesser-known women artists called out to me. It was a lightbulb-going-off moment!”

Surrounded by enviable landscape and architectural design, the sanctuary sports clean lines, floor-to-ceiling windows and, naturally, an abundance of art. She explains, “The whole adventure started with me falling in love with this midcentury jewel of a house on Georgica Road in East Hampton and wanting to save it from a tear down.” Inside, the space seamlessly flows from one room to another thanks to the neutral aesthetic throughout—complete with creative baubles, avant-garde light fixtures and timeless wooden furniture. “The house gave me a strong Japanese sensibility, so I researched Japanese artists who resonated with me. Onna (own-ah) means woman in Japanese, so the name pulled everything together. Today we have work at Onna House by women artists and designers from as far as Asia to our own Hamptons backyard.”

The main room is home to wooden furniture from Pierre Chapo

When I ask Perry how she hopes the Onna House will impact the Hamptons, she shares, “Bringing positive change to a community is never easy, but Onna House is already bringing the local artist community together in a new way. Several of the artists mentioned to me that they really don’t have a place to ‘hang out’ when they want to take a break from their studio time or a place to meet an artist friend that’s not at a restaurant. Onna House can be that place. The house includes a peaceful tea room and a beautiful moss garden, as well as several places to sit and relax and enjoy the gorgeous surroundings. We want artists, friends and members of the community to feel like Onna House is truly their house. When we say, ‘Make yourself at home,’ we really mean it.”

Onna House founder Lisa Perry.

Opening this Memorial Day weekend through appointments only, a group show will be on display as well as the work of Onna House artist Mitsuko Asakura. “All summer we will have our fabulous permanent collection on view, plus new exhibits each month into the fall. I love how Onna House merges all of my passions: art, design, architecture and helping to support women.” With time, her ultimate hope is to develop a residency program where one artist can come live in the guesthouse and create, which can then be showcased as a solo exhibition in the house. For now, make sure to book your appointments and come see all that is the Onna House. 123 Georgica Road, East Hampton

ONNA HOUSE COLLECTION ARTISTS:

Anna Karlin

Kelly Klein

Annie Albers

Pierre Chapo

Kelly Behun

Linda Miller

Mary LIttle

Charlotte Perriand

Sabra Moon Elliot

Toni Ross

Lisbeth McCoy

Nadoka Tamaura

Nina Cho

Patricia Udell

Bastienne Schmidt

Virva Hinnemo

Julie Wolfe

Natalie Munk

Hally Thacher

Almond Zigmund

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Zoe Dering

rrres studio

Leah Kaplan

Katherine Glenday

Miranda Fengyuan Zhang

Isabel Rower

Candace Hill-Montgomery

Mitsuko Asakura

Roger Capron

Janine Abraham

Elaine Stocki

Isabel Rower

Gio Ponti

Bastienne Schmidt

Janet Goleas