2014 WHITNEY GALA + STUDIO PARTY – NYC – FINAL EVENT AT BREUER BUILDING

Whitney Museum of American Art

Breuer Building: 945 Madison Avenue
Novemeber 19th, 2014
9:30pm – 1:00am

Last night, the Whitney Museum of American Art celebrated its annual Gala & Studio Party — the museum’s final event in the historic Breuer Building — presented by Louis Vuitton, and raised more than $4.3 million. Gala guests were treated to a surprise performance by Elvis Costello and a DJ set by Zen Freeman at the Studio Party on the top floor of the building. The evening also featured a special project by artist Will Pappenheimer titled, Proxy, 5-WM2A — a “designer drug” mobile app designed specifically for the Gala & Studio Party. Whitney Director Adam D. Weinberg announced that the Whitney will re-open in its new downtown home on May 1, 2015.

The Breuer building, located at the corner of Madison Avenue and 75th Street, served as the Whitney’s third home; previously, the Museum had gradually migrated northward from its original location on West Eighth Street to West 54th Street. It was designed by Hungarian-born, Bauhaus-trained architect Marcel Breuer (1902–1981), who worked with Hamilton Smith, creating a strong modernist statement in a neighborhood of traditional limestone, brownstone, and brick row houses and postwar apartment buildings. Considered somber, heavy, and even brutal at the time of its completion in 1966 (“an inverted Babylonian ziggurat,” according to one critic), Breuer’s building came to be recognized as daring, strong, and innovative and is now regarded as one of New York City’s most notable buildings. The Whitney’s programming at the Breuer building concluded on October 19, 2014, in preparation for the opening of its new building in the Meatpacking District in spring 2015.

Gala Co-Chairs included: Jill & Darius Bikoff, Lise & Michael Evans, Crystal McCrary & Raymond McGuire, Anne-Cecilie & Rob Speyer, Fern & Lenard Tessler and Gala Guests Francesca Amfitheatrof, Henry Barguirdjian, Nigel Barker, Mary Boone, Gavin Brown, Joanna Coles, Bob Colacello, Lisa Dennison, Kyle DeWoody, Fiona Donovan, Fairfax Dorn, Todd Eberle, Frederic Fekkai, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Arne & Milly Glimcher, Marc Glimcher, Thelma Golden, Wes Gordon, Carole Greene, Agnes Gund, Sandy Heller, Dodie Kazanjian, Riley Keough, Padma Lakshmi, Barbara Lane, David Lauren, Adam Lindemann, John McEnroe & Patty Smyth, Alberto Mugrabi, Jeff Peek, Lisa Phillips, Hilary Rhoda, Andrea Rosen, Sarah Hoover Sachs, Lola Schnabel, and Calvin Tomkins gathered to honor all 98 living artists who have had a survey exhibition at the Whitney’s Breuer Building. Guests enjoyed champagne by Moet & Chandon.

Artists in attendance included: Peggy Ahwesh, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Hope Atherton, Lizzie Azran, Irit Batsry, Marco Brambilla, Vija Celmins, Mathew Cerletty, Xavier Cha, Chuck Close, Ann Craven, N. Dash, E.V. Day, Fred Eversley, Kevin J. Everson, Eric Fischl, Mark Fox, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Red Grooms, Lyle Ashton Harris, Mary Heilmann, Jenny Holzer, Rashid Johnson, Dawn Kasper, Jeff Koons, Charles LeDray, Julian Lethbridge, Glenn Ligon, Danny Lyon, Jill Magid, Brice Marden, Josephine Meckseper, Jonas Mekas, Sarah Michelson, Aleksandra Mir, Meredith Monk, Will Pappenheimer, Raymond Pettibon, Ellen Phelan, Tom Sachs, Peter Saul, Shelter Serra, Joel Shapiro, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Mike Starn, Stewart Uoo, Sara VanderBeek, Kara Walker, William Wegman, Lawrence Weiner, Fred Wilson, Terry Winters, Dustin Yellin, and Joe Zucker.

Dinner guests joined Studio Party Benefit Committee Derek Blasberg, Olaf Breuning, Laura de Gunzburg, Kyle DeWoody, Sarah Hoover, Riley Keough, Mallory Neidich, Michael Nevin, Alexia Niedzielski, Jacolby Satterwhite, Monica & Peter Tessler, Emily Weiss and guests Carly Cushnie, Kipton Cronkite, Claire Distenfeld, Jasmine Lobe, Julie Macklowe, Gaia Matisse, Michelle Ochs, Polina Proshkina, and Ariana Rockefeller.