• Jeff Koons designed and donated the Southampton Playhouse's official summer season poster.

• The poster will be unveiled Friday, June 12, 2026, at 4 p.m. at the Playhouse, 43 Hill St., Southampton.

• Koons joins Playhouse artistic director Eric Kohn for a conversation from 4 to 5 p.m. following the unveiling.

• Tickets and information are available at southamptonplayhouse.com.

Jeff Koons has designed the Southampton Playhouse's official summer season poster, and the artist will unveil the work in person on Friday, June 12, at 4 p.m. at the Playhouse at 43 Hill Street in Southampton. The unveiling opens the theater's summer season and is followed by a conversation between Koons and artistic director Eric Kohn from 4 to 5 p.m., in which the artist will discuss the poster and the influences behind it. Koons designed and donated the piece to the Playhouse, continuing the theater's annual tradition of an exclusive season poster.

The format is direct: Koons reveals the poster, then sits with Kohn for an hourlong conversation at the Playhouse. For Hamptons audiences, it is a rare chance to hear one of the most consequential living artists discuss his work in a 1932 movie house ten minutes from the beach. Tickets and details are available at southamptonplayhouse.com.

The event also sets the tone for the Playhouse's summer calendar, which the poster will represent throughout the season.

Koons is among the most prominent artists working today, known for bold paintings and sculptures that transform everyday images and objects into works that engage the viewer in a dialogue with the present and the historical past. He earned wide renown for public works such as the monumental floral sculptures Puppy and Split-Rocker, and for four decades his work has explored themes of self-acceptance and transcendence.

His work sits in collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

For Koons, the commission carries a personal register. "I'm honored to have been asked to share my work for the Playhouse's summer season," the artist said. "Returning to the East End, where I have shared many works and have spent much time, feels like a homecoming."

The Playhouse frames the gift as a community moment. "We are honored to welcome Jeff Koons to the Southampton Playhouse, and are grateful he has graciously donated this piece of art to our Southampton Playhouse community," said executive director Maria A. Botsacos. "Our mission at the Playhouse is to enrich the Southampton community and beyond celebrating the past, present, and future of the moving image, and Jeff's work does just that."

The venue gives the event its character. A historic theater that first opened in 1932, the Southampton Playhouse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving Southampton and beyond with first-rate cinema and live events. Its four screens include an IMAX theater and 35mm projection, alongside a flexible space for parties and performing arts, a lounge, and a bookstore.

Programming blends current blockbusters with discoveries from around the world and repertory series that dig into film history, supported by post-screening Q&As, workshops, and lectures. Kohn, a veteran journalist, also hosts the Playhouse's weekly podcast, Movie People: Interviews and More from the Southampton Playhouse, and writes its weekly newsletter, The Playhouse Post.

The unveiling and conversation take place Friday, June 12, from 4 to 5 p.m. at 43 Hill Street, Southampton. For tickets, membership information, and the summer schedule, visit southamptonplayhouse.com. For a season that begins with a Koons on the wall, arriving early seems advisable.