NEW YORK — A hot pink Jeff Koons "Balloon Venus" sculpture sold for $57,000, or twice its estimate, at a live auction held March 12 as part of Art Production Fund's annual gala fundraiser.
Honoring fashion designer Carolina Herrera and art critic Linda Yablonsky, the gala, themed "White Glove Gone Wild," was held at a private club in the Upper East Side, saw guests sporting temporary tattoos designed by Wangechi Mutu, tottering around with the bases of their champagne glasses wrapped in napkins by Toilet Paper, while music by DJ Rachel Chandler Guinness played on.
The event also featured performance art by Vanessa Beecroft and on-the-scene portraits by Marilyn Minter, the latter of which raised $40,000 for the Fund. Gabriela Palmieri, senior vice president of Sotheby's Contemporary Art, also auctioned off works by Enoc Perez and Ugo Rondinone. All told, the evening's activities raised about $130,000 for Art Production Fund, which visibly thrilled its co-founder Yvonne Force Villareal, who was dressed in an elegant, black-and-white Carolina Herrera number.
The burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, who attended the event as Herrera's guest, told BLOUIN Artinfo: "I love auctions. I love watching people spend money on art, it’s very exciting."
Hererra said it was a great honor for her, as a designer who has recently referenced Velázquez, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesús Rafael Soto, "to be honored by these people who are doing so much for contemporary art."
Commenting on why art inspires her, she said: "Fashion is basically art with movement. It’s the detail that catches my eye and from there we go on."
To see the people, fashion and scenes from the gala, click on the slideshow.
