What: The Whitney Gala and Studio Party
When: November 19, 2014
Where: The Breuer Building
Who: Presented by Louis Vuitton, guests included Hilary Rhoda, Padma Lakshmi, Mary Boone, Adam Lindemann, Andrea Rosen, Gavin Brown, Derek Blasberg, and Gaia Matisse. Artists were out in full force as well, with Raymond Pettibon, Cindy Sherman, Rashaad Newsome, Tom Sachs, Dustin Yellin, and Chuck Close all spotted.
Why: To bid adieu to the Whitney’s home of 48 years. Walls were covered in newspaper clippings, artist’s names, and photographs of galas past, encouraging guests to try to spot a familiar face (we found Bianca Jagger). Oh, and there was also an augmented reality app by Will Pappenheimer which induced, as one guest out it, “a Whitney-themed hallucination”.
The Moment: A surprise performance by Elvis Costello took place at the end of the gala dinner. While we managed to just miss it, we did arrive in time for the wild applause at the end, so we can therefore confirm its existence. An announcement was also made during dinner that the museum will open its new downtown location on May 1, 2015. We’re anticipating an even bigger blowout for that one.