A massive outdoor sculpture made out of shipping containers by the Los Angeles-based artist Matt Johnson is at the centre of a feud brewing in East Montauk, the ritzy beach getaway at the east end of New York’s Long Island.
Last month, the town of East Hampton launched a lawsuit over Meditating Figure (2026), Johnson’s sculpture made up of 12 shipping containers decommissioned after traveling millions of miles by sea. The sculpture depicts a seated, human-like figure nearly 60ft tall. The work is part of LA Monumental, an exhibition continuing until 15 November and also featuring works by Nancy Rubins and Paul McCarthy.
The exhibition is staged at the Ranch, owned by the art consultant Max Levai, who purchased the property in 2021. Since then, the Ranch has staged exhibitions in both indoor spaces like renovated barns and outdoors on the sprawling property. The Ranch is open and accessible by appointment only; the facility features 16 acres of pasture and a working horse farm, along with a barn space for art installations. Levai is the former president of the now-shuttered Marlborough Gallery and the son of its longtime director Pierre Levai.
While Levai has staged shows on his East Montauk property for years, the city of East Hampton (whose jurisdiction the Ranch sits within) has taken issue with Johnson’s sculpture.
According to East Hampton, the sculpture qualifies as a structure and should have been inspected with proper permitting ahead of construction. Patrick Derenze, a public information office for the town of East Hampton, confirmed to The Art Newspaper that four charges have been brought against the Ranch: violation of a conservation easement, failure to obtain a building permit, failure to obtain approval from the local architectural review board and failure to obtain a certificate of occupancy.
“Any and all structures in New York State require a building permit. If an art sculpture qualifies as a structure under New York State building code, then it will need to go through the applicable building permit application process to ensure that it meets any and all building codes,” Derenze added.
The Ranch, Levai and Johnson were all named as defendants, though the city later dropped its claims against Johnson. Levai and his lawyers did not answer The Art Newspaper's inquiries about the dispute.
According to East Hampton, Johnson's sculpture sits on a parcel of Levai’s land restricted to agricultural use, and the town owns development rights. On 31 July, the town secured a stay prohibiting the Ranch from “undertaking any further construction or demolition on the property”, Derenze said.
The local town board voted 4 to 1 to authorise legal action during a 7 July meeting.
“By definition, this is a structure—they’re welding large pieces of metal together. It needs to go through the building department for applicable safety standard checks,” Jake Turner, the lawyer for East Hampton, said during that meeting. “If we don't take action, then we are compromising the safety of the residents.”
Only councilman Tom Flight voted against the resolution, questioning if the town had the authority to dictate art installed on private property.
“I have a slight issue with this. It is a public work of art. We don’t have a lot of guidance as to when we are restricting art being displayed,” Flight said during the meeting. “I appreciate that this is an exceptionally large piece, but to deny people the ability to exhibit art is not something I personally support.”
The sculpture is installed on a section of the property’s pasture visible from nearby Montauk Highway, less than three miles away from the well-known Montauk Lighthouse. Some residents have called the work an eyesore, but town officials insist their concerns have to do with safety, not aesthetics.
This is not the first time Levai has been involved in a spat over the Ranch. In 2023 his Hamptons neighbour, the collector and former dealer Adam Lindemann, was arrested over the 4 July weekend for trespassing and harassment after allegedly shoving Levai, reportedly over the latter’s zoning violations.
