Though it may seem that Armory Week and Frieze Week get all the action, the reality is that there is never a dull moment in the New York art world. From the East Side to the West Side, there’s always something happening at the city’s museums, galleries, and various event spaces. Plus, the wider international art scene also keeps us plenty busy, with international events like the opening of Russia’s inaugural Garage Triennial in Moscow. Here’s a rundown of this week’s highlights.
The 2017 Guggenheim Young Collectors Party at the Guggenheim
The next generation of art collectors were out in full force at the Guggenheim on March 9 as the museum celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Young Collectors Council, an organization that has added over 140 works to the institution’s permanent collection in the past two decades.
Artist Ryan McNamara spent the night DJing on a platform at the center of building’s iconic rotunda. “If y’all want me to be in the center, I gotta bring some go-go boys,” he told artnet News, referring to two dancing companions scantily clad in maroon briefs that read “Felix” and “Sturtevant.” (It was a reference to a performance piece originally staged by Felix Gonzalez Torres, later appropriated by Sturtevant.)
The night featured dance performances by Kim Brandt, FlucT, Sam Roeck, and Quenton Stuckey, all invited by McNamara, who selected “artists who make me excited about being in New York right now,” turning the museum into a stage.
Ryan McNamara at the Guggenheim Young Collectors Party. Courtesy of BFA.
Sarah Hoover, Nell Diamond, Timo Weiland, and Sarah Arison at the Guggenheim Young Collectors Party. Courtesy of BFA.
Performers at the Guggenheim Young Collectors Party. Courtesy of BFA.
Laura de Gunzburg, Sarah Arison, Anne Huntington, Tiffany Zabludowicz, Noreen Khalid Ahmad, and Alexandra Economou at the Guggenheim Young Collectors Party. Courtesy of BFA.
Tiffany x Whitney Artist Collaboration Cocktails at the Tiffany Store
Tiffany & Co. unveiled the fruits of its collaboration with the Whitney Biennial—it’s the exhibition’s lead sponsor for 2017—at a party on March 9. From the biennial’s participating artists, exhibition curators Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks invited Harold Mendez, Ajay Kurian, Raúl de Nieves, Carrie Moyer, and Shara Hughes to create new limited-edition art objects in collaboration with Tiffany artisans and master craftsmen. The spectacular results are now on display in the storefront windows.
Tiffany chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff and Whitney director Adam D. Weinberg welcomed the participating artists as well as guests including Indré Rockefeller, Sarah Arison, Isolde Brielmaier, Casey Fremont, and Marlies Verhoeven to a cocktail and canapé reception at the company’s 5th Avenue flagship store.
“As soon as they asked me, I said absolutely,” Mendez told artnet News. For his contribution, he adapted one of his copper pieces to silver, a material he had never used before. “What ended up inspiring me was what the silversmiths were able to do,” he added. “They know the properties of silver, and I don’t, so it was a really great way of working collaboratively.”
Bettina Prentice and Indre Rockefeller at Tiffany’s 2017 Whitney Biennial celebration. Courtesy of Leandro Justen/BFA.
Christopher Lew, Raul de Nieves, and Mia Locks at Tiffany’s 2017 Whitney Biennial celebration. Courtesy of Leandro Justen/BFA.
Reed Krakoff at Tiffany’s 2017 Whitney Biennial celebration. Courtesy of Leandro Justen/BFA.
Carrie Moyer’s artwork at Tiffany’s 2017 Whitney Biennial celebration. Courtesy of Leandro Justen/BFA.
Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art opening at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow
Dasha Zhukova and Roman Abramovich, the cofounders of Russia’s Garage Museum, welcomed a crowd of jet-setting art world folk, including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Beatrix Ruf, Boris Groys, Ugo Rondinone, Sadie Coles, and Eva Presenhuber, to the inaugural edition of the Garage Triennial on March 9.
Dasha Zukova at the opening of the Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art. Courtesy of the Garage Museum.
Irina Korina at the opening of the Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art. Courtesy of the Garage Museum.
Triennial artists at the opening of the Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art. Courtesy of the Garage Museum.
Pavel Pepperstein, Ksenia Dranish, and guest at the opening of the Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art. Courtesy of the Garage Museum.
Ugo Rondinone and Andrey Malakhov at the opening of the Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art. Courtesy of the Garage Museum.
The Armory Arts Party at the Soho Grand Library
As the craziness of Armory Week wound down on March 3, the Armory Show celebrated another successful edition with a party at the Soho Grand. Fair director Benjamin Genocchio hosted, and cocktails came courtesy of Absolut Elyx.
Formerly the fair’s Young Collectors night, the evening welcomed artists, influencers, and other art world professionals such as Armory Presents prizewinning gallerist Mariane Ibrahim and artist Zohra Opoku, whose work was on view at the dealer’s booth.
Ben Genocchio, Zohar Opoku, Bibi Tran, and Mariane Ibrahim at the Armory Arts Party. Courtesy of BFA.
Ariana Dickey, Mimi Liedtke, Sophie Helm, and Jessie Cappello at the Armory Arts Party. Courtesy of BFA.
Kristen Gallegos at the Armory Arts Party. Courtesy of BFA.
MTV RE:DEFINE Auction Launch at Great Jones Studio
The annual MTV RE:DEFINE benefit auction takes place in Dallas each year (the 2017 edition is scheduled for March 24), but the lots are already live online. The sale, which benefits the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, dedicated to promoting HIV awareness and prevention, and the Dallas Contemporary, kicked off with a party in New York on March 9.
Neville Wakefield, who is back to curate the charity art auction yet again, welcomed guests including artist Richard Phillips, Joyce Goss of Dallas’s Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas Contemporary director Peter Doroshenko, and DJ Paul Sevigny. This year’s Artist Honoree at the main event in Dallas will be painter Eric Fischl. Guests also enjoyed a preview of a short tribute film that will premiere at the gala dedicated to pop star and art collector George Michael, a founding partner of the event, who died in late 2016.
Liv Townsend, Alexandra Lambert, at Natasha Kaye Whiffin at the MTV RE DEVINE Auction Launch. Courtesy of BFA.
Richard Phillips, Maxine Trowbridge, Joyce Goss, and Peter Doroshenko at the MTV RE DEVINE Auction Launch. Courtesy of BFA.
Neville Wakefield at the MTV RE DEVINE Auction Launch. Courtesy of BFA.
Metrograph 1st Anniversary Party at Metrograph
The Metrograph theater celebrated its first birthday on March 8, with guests enjoying hors d’oeuvres, rosé sangria, and rum and bourbon punch while China Town lion dancers flitted among the crowd.
The star-studded affair at what Vogue has declared “New York’s new temple of art-house cinema,” played host to Chloe Sevigny, Zosia Mamet, Michael Cera, Steve Buscemi, Tavi Gevinson, and Bobby Cannavale, among others. Representing the fashion world—the theater was founded by men’s fashion designer Alexander Olch—were Zac Posen and Arden Wohl. Artists Tom Sachs and Dustin Yellin were also in attendance.
Chloe Sevigny and Steve Buscemi at the Metrograph 1st Anniversary Party. Courtesy of Sean Zanni, © Patrick McMullan.
Tom Sachs at the Metrograph 1st Anniversary Party. Courtesy of Sean Zanni, © Patrick McMullan.
Tavi Gevinson at the Metrograph 1st Anniversary Party. Courtesy of Sean Zanni, © Patrick McMullan.
Tippet Rise Art Center Cocktail Reception at Steinway Hall
Montana’s Tippet Rise Art Center headed to New York on March 9, ahead of the launch of its second season. The organization’s founders, Peter and Cathy Halstead, treated an intimate group of guests to cocktails and small bites.
The highlight of the evening, which took place in the former International Center of Photography space, now the showroom for Steinway pianos, was a performance by acclaimed pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, who was also among the sprawling sculpture park’s musical guests in 2016.
“It’s indescribable,” said McDermott of the outdoor museum, praising the inimitable quality of silence at Tippet Rise, and encouraging the audience to make the trip to Montana, before launching into a selection of music including compositions by Bach and Chopin. “I’m ready to move out to Montana!,” McDermott enthused.
Tippet Rise Art Center hosts press event at Steinway Hall. Courtesy of Chris Lee.
Anne-Marie McDermott performs at the Tippet Rise Art Center press event at Steinway Hall. Courtesy of Chris Lee
Peter and Cathy Halstead at the Tippet Rise Art Center press event at Steinway Hall. Courtesy of Chris Lee.
UNIQLO Celebrates the Global Launch of SUPERGEOMETRIC at UNIQLO
New York’s Museum of Modern Art has inspired a brand new line of clothing for UNIQLO, which revealed its SUPERGEOMETRIC collection, which draws on the bold line work of Sol Lewitt, Josef Albers, Francois Morellet, Gego, and designer Max Bill, at a party at its New York flagship on March 3. Celebrities including Taryn Manning and Waris Ahluwalia sported designs from the new line in honor of the occasion.
Waris Ahluwalia at the Global Launch of SUPERGEOMETRIC at UNIQLO. Courtesy of Simon Luethi.
Global Launch of SUPERGEOMETRIC at UNIQLO. Courtesy of Simon Luethi.
Global Launch of SUPERGEOMETRIC at UNIQLO. Courtesy of Simon Luethi.