| EVENT REPORT 05.25.05 12:00 AM |
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| Warhol Inspires Dia Benefit in Beacon |
| The Dia Art Foundation's spring benefit coincided with its "Dia's Andy" exhibition and took direction from the Pop Art master's ideas for events. |
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| The Dia Art Foundation's Andy Warhol exhibit, "Dia's Andy: Through the Lens of Patronage," was the inspiration behind the foundation's spring benefit at its center in Beacon, New York. Planned by the Dia's director of external affairs, Laura Raicovich, and MF Productions, the event hosted 350 guests from the worlds of fashion, art, and entertainment—including designers Helmut Lang and Donna Karan; artists Sol LeWitt, Vera Lutter (both have exhibitions currently on view at Dia: Beacon), Brice Marden, and Tony Oursler; and actors Steve Martin, Rachel Weisz, and Phoebe Cates—just the sort of crowd that Warhol, a pop culture fanatic, loved to have around. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | | At the Dia Art Foundation's spring benefit at Dia: Beacon, designer Annalisa Milella decorated the tabletops with crinkly gray cotton fabric and reflective gazing globes as centerpieces, which were an homage to Andy Warhol and his frequent use of shiny materials. |
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 | | Warhol's "Shadows" served as a fitting backdrop for dinner; guests got the chance to preview the "Dia's Andy: Through the Lens of Patronage" exhibit. |
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In true Dia style, the event was minimal, but not without thought behind it. Dinner was served in a large gallery specially configured for Warhol's enormous "Shadows" series—repetitive panels placed side to side and installed close to the floor to encircle the space. In fact, Warhol intended the work to function as a backdrop for social gatherings, and he used it for a fashion shoot for his Interview magazine in 1979. That same year he described the works not as art, but as "disco decor," in New York magazine.
In homage to the artist's frequent use of reflective materials such as Mylar—and as a nod to the flashy disco era—the event's designer, Annalisa Milella, created simple tabletops that included shiny, highly polished hollow metal spheres. The silvery globes reflected the work that covered the gallery's walls and the guests. Tables were draped with crinkly gray cotton fabric.
For dinner, cookbook author Barbara Kafka worked with Garrison, New York-based Fresh Company to create a menu rich with local, sustainable ingredients from the Hudson River Valley. As a first course, a spring medley of sautéed vegetables included fiddleheads, ramps, fennel, baby carrots, and chive flowers. Striped bass with baby spinach and sorrel, fingerling potatoes, morels, and tarragon was the entrée, followed by shortcake and rhubarb and Old Chatham fresh cheese.
—Mark Mavrigian
Photos: Stephanie Berger
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