A clash in the Hamptons has escalated into a heated dispute, pitting town officials against a local business owner over a striking shipping container artwork that has sharply split opinion in the upscale coastal community.
The controversy began in June, when Los Angeles artist Matt Johnson’s sculpture, Mediating Figure, was installed at The Ranch, a Montauk property owned by Max Levai.
Built from a series of decommissioned shipping containers welded together, the large-scale piece forms the shape of a seated figure in a meditative pose. It stands on Levai’s land, a site that was previously designated as protected farmland.
The installation quickly drew criticism from some residents, with a number of locals objecting to the sculpture’s appearance and calling for it to be taken down or destroyed.
East Hampton, the town that includes Montauk, has now filed a lawsuit against Levai and The Ranch, alleging the “unlawful construction and maintenance of an unpermitted structure on real property.”
Although the property is privately owned, town officials argue that a 1983 agreement restricts development on the land to agricultural production only.
Levai, who has owned The Ranch since 2021, has displayed artwork on the property before. But this marks the first time East Hampton has taken legal action over one of the installations.
According to the town, Levai did not seek the required permit that would allow the structure to remain on the property.
In June, Matt Johnson’s sculpture, Mediating Figure, was constructed on a ranch in Montauk. Residents were quick to have mixed feelings about it
Johnson picked Montauk as it used to be an artist’s colony and it was the furthest point on Long Island. Now the Town of East Hampton, which includes Montauk, is demanding it be demolished
East Hampton is now demanding the structure be ‘dismantled or demolished immediately.’
Johnson told Vanity Fair that it made sense for him to install the artwork in Montauk, as the tiny town was once known as an artist’s colony. It is also the furthest point of Long Island.
‘I think a lot of times, artists – and I certainly feel this way about living where I live – it’s nice to sort of just get yourself a distance away from all the stuff that’s going on,’ he told the magazine.
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Levai has been displaying a vast collection of artwork on his property for the past five years, garnering many positive reactions from local museums and art collectors, he told the outlet.
‘Whether it’s these great local museums that are all really supportive, or other people doing similar things to what I am in a non-traditional way – and obviously an incredible amount of affluent collectors are out here, looking to see art in a different context,’ he said.
Levai likes that Mediating Figure is pushing boundaries and allowing people to think, he said.
‘And that sculpture, certainly, I think kind of defines that, right?’ he added.
Residents do not need a permit to install artwork on their property, but the town argues the sculpture is, by definition, a structure – meaning it requires one.
The town argued the welded together artwork is a structure, and therefore, needs a building permit to be allowed. They also said the land can only be used for agricultural development
‘Any and all structures in New York State require a building permit,’ Patrick Derenze, the town’s public information officer, told Our News Outlet.
‘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.’
‘They’re welding big pieces of metal together,’ Town Attorney, Jake Turner, told the Vanity Fair. ‘It needs to go through the building department for applicable safety standard checks.’
Derenze also told Our News Outlet: ‘The Town can confirm that four charges have been brought against The Ranch: violation of a conservation easement, failure to obtain a building permit, failure to obtain Architectural Review Board approval and failure to obtain a certificate of occupancy.
‘We secured a stay prohibiting them from undertaking any further construction or demolition on the property. We will return at a later date as the case proceeds.’
The uproar over the artwork caused it to come up in the East Hampton Town Board Work Session on July 7, where they voted 4-1 to explore legal action against Levai and The Ranch.
Weeks later, it filed a complaint in Suffolk County Supreme Court against Levai, his business, and Johnson. The artist has since been dropped as a defendant last week.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Johnson and the attorneys for the town, The Ranch, and Levai for comment.
