East Hampton sues to demolish towering shipping container sculpture

East Hampton Town is seeking a court order to demolish a towering sculpture made of shipping containers in Montauk, accusing the gallery's owner of installing the 60-foot-tall “Meditating Figure” without authorization.

The town, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Suffolk Supreme Court, alleges the sculpture was erected without a required building permit. It sits on land with development rights that were sold to the town in 1983, permanently restricting its use to agriculture, according to the town's complaint.

East Hampton is seeking to halt activity at the Old Montauk Highway property, compel the sculpture's removal and require the land to be restored to its prior condition.

The sculpture, by California-based artist Matt Johnson, depicts a figure in a lotus pose and was assembled out of 12 decommissioned shipping containers welded together. The work is part of “LA Monumental,” an outdoor exhibit that opened in June at The Ranch, an art gallery and horse farm.

The town's amended complaint names The Ranch owner and curator Max Levai and his limited liability company that owns the property.

Levai hopes to resolve the issue with the town before litigation proceeds, Richard Whalen, his attorney, said in a phone interview Friday.

Whalen acknowledged that a building permit should have been obtained for the sculpture but argued it's permissible despite the land being restricted to agricultural use.

“Our contention is that a piece of sculpture is not a use, that if a farmer sells the development rights to his land or her land, that doesn't preclude them from installing a piece of artwork ... as long as it doesn't affect the agricultural use of the property,” he said.

Johnson, who was named in the first complaint filed by the town but was later removed as a defendant, did not return a request for comment.

On Friday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction barring Levai from changing the sculpture or removing it from the property without the town's approval, pending the outcome of the case. The parties are due back in court on Sept. 10, according to online filings.

The town has issued four violations tied to the installation, including failures to obtain a building permit, Architectural Review Board approval and a certificate of occupancy, as well as an alleged violation of a conservation easement restricting use of parts of the property.

On June 9, the town board voted 4-1 to authorize legal action against the owner of The Ranch over the alleged violations. Councilman Tom Flight dissented, citing concerns about limiting artistic expression. Town officials have emphasized that the issue centers on compliance with building and safety regulations rather than the artwork itself.

In an earlier email to Newsday, Johnson said his sculpture “aligns itself with a long history of colossal figure sculpture” primarily made with religious connotations, similar to giant Buddha statues in Southeast Asia.

“But this work is a fully contemporary construction, a deity built by capital and consumption,” Johnson wrote. “It's a work that is both linked to past human endeavor as it is a representation of our current global experience.”

The Ranch has drawn scrutiny from the town in the past. In 2023, officials issued appearance tickets to The Ranch over unpermitted art events and missing site plan approvals. The town authorized litigation, but a lawsuit was never filed.