03/14/2026
As the East End prepares for another summer high season, East Hampton–based painter Nick Weber continues building his ongoing portrait series, Melting Pot: Friends From Afar, which now includes upwards of 30 paintings and counting.
What began as a small body of work has evolved into an expanding visual record of first-generation Americans who live and work on Long Island’s East End. In a place often defined by summer homes and postcard scenery, these portraits tell another story. One about migration, labor, friendship, and the many cultures that quietly converge here.
The project and Weber’s mission have already begun to resonate beyond the studio, drawing attention from CNN, NPR, Vanity Fair, and Dan’s Papers, among others.
For Weber, the series has become both a personal archive and an ongoing conversation.
“As long as immigration remains a polarizing subject, I’ll keep painting these portraits. These are my friends. They come from every corner of the world, yet our lives intersect here on the East End. Their stories deserve to be seen.”
From Jamaica to Bulgaria, Tokyo to Colombia and beyond, Melting Pot: Friends From Afar continues to expand. One portrait. One story. One friend at a time.
Images: Aneliya (Bulgaria), Jeovanny (Ecuador), and Joo-Yung (Korea), all oil on canvas 30 x 24
