Following a private lavish VIP dinner (with a surprise performance by Seal!) honoring former Goldman Sachs managing director, Robert J. Hurst, the Whitney Museum of American Art became the art event of the year in hosting its highly ritzy and stylish Studio Party.
The event, sponsored by Louis Vuitton, transformed into the scene of high profile artists and celebrities from all from all across the world with guests such as the Princess Beatrice of York, model and painter Tali Lennox, designer and stylist Brandon Maxwell, and legendary photorealist Chuck Close. The eclectic surely came in many forms in their best dressed, guests came in black tie to straight-out-of-a-fashion-campaign looks.
In celebration of the Whitney’s one year anniversary, the guest list was no short of 600 invitees who “wouldn’t miss for the world experience,” like VIP stylist Micaela Erlanger who rushed from a fitting to attend. From the floor to ceiling light installations (done by Bentley Meeker) turned dance floor, to the group photo booth tucked behind a series of cocktail tables, the main floor of the museum was a free for all for the contemporary crowd. Neon sofas placed in the center of the party acted as a safe haven for the late night stayers, made convenient for snacking the limitless drinks and juicy lamb burger bites.
A miniature tattoo stand hosted by Tattly lit by a phosphorescent red sign attracted guests to discover their inner rebel with temporary tattoo designs by artists like Jamian Juliano-Villani, Nina Chanel Abney, and Mathew Cerletty. Cerletty’s “the feeling is mutual” tattoo unsurprisingly was the most coveted epidermal imprint.
As for the art, the event was more of a celebration for the museum than its collections. The featured art showcase, Mirror Cells was tucked on the upper floors of the multi-level complex. Mirror Cells joins together the visual narratives of artists Liz Craft, Rochelle Goldberg, Elizabeth Jaeger, Maggie Lee, and Win McCarthy to present an environment of new age sculptures by young artists who explore narrative and aesthetic links between objects, immersing viewers in strange invented worlds.
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