Two of my favorite things came together at “A Night at the Museum,” the Bass Museum’s annual gala fundraiser, with the Vanitas: Fashion and Art exhibition (on view through June 20, 2014). Vogue Latin America was title sponsor of the gala and fashion scholar, Harold Koda, was guest curator for the exhibit. Pinch me. Koda trained with fashion icon and legendary former Vogue editor in chief, Diana Vreeland, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, then went on to become Curator-in-Charge of the institute. The soft-spoken, charming Koda is the last word on fashion and its history.
The attire was Creative Black Tie, but this art-loving, uber-chic crowd never needs prompting. They always bring it. Overheard: Koda was extremely impressed and surprised by the Miami crowd’s elegance and fashion sense at the gala. #It’sOfficial (A hard-core fashionista’s version of a #PapalBlessing).
The four gala co-chairs dazzled in top couture frocks. Sol Picon in Escada, Criselda Breene wearing her dear friend Naeem Khan‘s design (he was there with wife Ranjana), Kelly Talamas (Vogue Latin America Editor in Chief) wearing Ecuadoran designer, Gabriela Cadena and Christina Getty in Alexander McQueen. The silent auction co-chairs were the equally artistic Malena Assing and Adrienne Bon Haes. Former Miamian and my longtime friend, Eva Hughes, CEO of Condé Nast Mexico & Latin America, even took time from her endless globetrotting to attend the gala. It was the place to be!
Over 650 of the city’s leading arts patrons, gallery owners, socialites and tastemakers attended, resulting in a record-setting, sold out night. Quite a coup for Bass Museum Executive Director and Chief Curator, the divine Silvia Karman Cubina.
Main sponsor Escada, created the VIP Escada Escapes Lounge where guests gathered around the exclusive champagne and Chateau D’Esclans Rosé bar. Too fab for words. The décor and cuisine were created by Alejandro Muguerza, owner of Le Basque Catering. Such unique taste and vision! While celebrity DJ Mauricio Parra kept the crowd going all night.
About the exhibit — Vanitas: Fashion and Art
The exhibition includes works by contemporary designers and artists such as pieces by Isaac Mizrahi, Manolo Blahnik and a velvet mirrored evening jacket by Elsa Schiaparelli will also be on display, alongside dresses by Yohji Yamamoto and Iris van Herpen, among others. Conceived as a kind of exoskeleton and created through the use of computer programs and 3D printing, Van Herpen’s polyamide dress gives the appearance of a skeletal form and was presented as part of the designer’s debut collection. These pieces from the world of fashion will be juxtaposed with film and video works by Sam Taylor-Johnson and Greta Alfaro, photographs from Pinar Yolacan’s Perishables series, and Ori Gersht’s Blow Up, a large scale photograph of an elaborate floral arrangement based on a nineteenth-century still-life by the French painter Henri Fantin-Latour, captured at the moment that it explodes. It explores the theme of vanitas (which has nothing to do with vanity) as expressed in avant garde ready-to-wear and haute couture as well as in contemporary paintings, sculptures, industrial design and new media. The exhibition includes works by contemporary designers and artists. The installation highlights rare examples of the Bass Museum of Art’s remarkable collection of historic frames by incorporating them spatially to create a dynamic and interactive engagement of artworks and viewer.
About the Bass Museum of Art:
Located in Miami Beach, the Bass Museum of Art offers a dynamic year-round calendar of exhibitions dedicated to their mission: “we inspire and educate by exploring the connections between our historical collections and contemporary art.” This includes art from our permanent collection of Renaissance and Baroque paintings, sculpture, textiles and Egyptian Gallery. Artists’ projects, educational programs, lectures, concerts and free family days complement the works on view. Additionally, the museum opened the Lindemann Family Creativity Center in January 2012. The center is the home of the museum’s IDEA@thebass program of art classes and workshops.
For more information, please visit http://www.bassmuseum.org Call 306-673-7530 or visit the museum at 2100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139.
Daisy Olivera
PHOTOS BY: ZOLTAN PREPSZENT & WORLD RED EYE
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