Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Toronto
Street artist Kobra designed large, colorful murals for the space.
Photo: Ryan Emberley for Perrier
Perrier Street Art—Toronto
Japanese artist Sasu's installation comprised 30 hanging kaleidoscopes.
Photo: Ryan Emberley for Perrier
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Toronto
Guests interacted with the installation by peeking through the colorful kaleidoscopes.
Photo: Ryan Emberley for Perrier
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Toronto
Guests took home a new Perrier "slim can," which is part of the limited-edition collection.
Photo: Ryan Emberley for Perrier
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Toronto
Street artist JonOne attended the event and spoke to the audience about his collaboration with Perrier.
Photo: Ryan Emberley for Perrier
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Toronto
Artist materials such as paints, brushes, and drawing pads were displayed throughout the venue.
Photo: Ryan Emberley for Perrier
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Toronto
At the bar, limited-edition bottles designed by artist JonOne were on display. Green lighting enhanced the bottle's signature hue.
Photo: Ryan Emberley for Perrier
Perrier Street Art—Brooklyn
Mirrorball produced a launch party for the collection in Brooklyn on September 25. To play off the event's painterly theme, Neuman's Kitchen presented a colorful fondue station with a selection of sweet treats for dipping.
Photo: Jason Malihan
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Brooklyn
New York-based Rory Mulholland Scenery created the custom-fabricated, Eduardo Kobra-inspired pedestals used in the photo station. Brazilian artist Kobra, known for his vibrant, kaleidoscopic spin on vintage imagery, collaborated with Perrier for its new collection.
Photo: Patrick MacLeod
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Brooklyn
Guests sipped on custom Perrier cocktails, each named after the street artists being celebrated at the event—Sasu, Kobra, and JonOne, whose drink consisted of Don Julio Blanco, Perrier pink grapefruit, lime, and agave, with a hibiscus salt rim. Perrier’s mixologist, Lynnette Marrero, developed the cocktails.
Photo: Patrick MacLeod
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Brooklyn
3dar, an animation studio based in Imperial Beach, California, helped develop the interactive light graffiti wall featured at the event, held at the Colossal Paint Warehouse in Brooklyn. Guests used an LED-equipped spray can to "paint" on the warehouse wall; the artwork was revealed as the guest moved across the canvas.
Photo: Patrick MacLeod
Perrier Inspired by Street Art—Brooklyn
In honor of the street artists, the waitstaff and bartenders, who were provided by Neuman's Kitchen, wore white paint-splattered tuxedo jackets.
Photo: Patrick MacLeod
This year's gala honored artist Ed Ruscha, who allowed a reproduction of his drawing of the Hollywood sign to be used as the step-and-repeat.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Guests entering the reception space walked through a gauntlet of beams of light created by Bentley Meeker.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Recreating a life drawing class, artists sketched nude models. Extra easels were set up for guests to create their own sketches.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The artists also sketched a display of luggage from event sponsor Louis Vuitton.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Event designer David Stark created a dining room that incorporated artists materials such as canvas stretchers that hung in various sizes from the ceiling.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Playful centerpieces featured silver paint cans that held breadsticks and also Sharpie markers that guests could use to draw on the canvas tablecloths.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Canvas stretchers decorated the stage set up in the dining room. The decor was intended to emphasize the art-making process.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Images from the Whitney's collection were projected onto traditional screens as well as a nontraditional one created from sketch pads. A fan blew on the pads, ruffling the papers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Gala sponsor Louis Vuitton offered guests glitter tattoos fom Glitter Tattoo New York.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Guests could pose for photos in a frame with signs that displayed the logo of sponsor Louis Vuitton as well as the museum.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Olivier Cheng catered the event, which included passed hors d'oeuvres such as dumplings stuffed with jicama.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Belgian surrealist René Magritte was the focus of a major Art Institute of Chicago exhibition this year as well as the inspiration behind the decor and food of the museum's Woman's Board and Board of Trustees gala on June 20. Matching HMR Designs' visuals for the event, the institute's in-house caterer Bon Appetit Catering provided whimsical offerings. That included a first course of king crab, lobster tail, cauliflower, baby zucchini, squash blossom, sweet corn, and lobster essence, which referenced the famous Magritte quotation "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" (or, "This is not a pipe.")
Photo: Cheri Eisenberg
In 2010, food artist Jennifer Rubell created a one-night-only exhibition called "Icons" for the Brooklyn Museum. The food-focused exhibit was designed to be interactive and serve as the meal for the art institution's annual Brooklyn Ball. Among the pieces Rubell created were lifesize cheese heads that hung from the ceiling, with heat guns slowly melting the sculptures onto a bed of crackers below. The inspiration? Artist Bruce Nauman, whose work includes sculptures of heads.
Photo: Alison Whittington for BizBash
As part of its involvement with Art Basel Hong Kong, the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong's executive chef Uwe Opocensky created a series of dishes inspired by iconic works of art. That included the Lily Pond—Alaskan king crab, scallop, dashi, and frozen grapefruit—designed as an ode to French impressionist Claude Monet's "Water Lilies."
Photo: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
To build buzz for its opening, New York's Sanctuary Hotel hosted three dinners in its unfinished lobby dubbed the "Pop Art Pop Up" in March 2011. Pop art was the overriding theme of the concept and as such teenage chef Greg Grossman paid homage to the works of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, and others through the shapes and colors of his dishes. One plate was inspired by Damien Hirst's spot paintings and consisted of scallop, potato, apple, tamarind, and Thai basil.
Photo: Sunny Norton
The Adler Planetarium's Celestial Ball on September 13 had a "Starry Night" theme taken from Vincent van Gogh's famous piece. As such, the dessert by Food for Thought was inspired by the Dutch artist and the swirling patterns in the painting.
Photo: Jenny Berg/BizBash
Performance art organization Performa is known for its quirky events that put art at the forefront of the experience. In 2012, the nonprofit's fall gala was inspired by Relâche, Francis Picabia and Erik Satie's surrealist ballet of 1924. In keeping with that, the menu from Bite Food played off the surrealist works of Salvador Dali and René Magritte and included a dinner that started with whole lady apples—a nod to Magritte's iconic self portrait, "The Son of Man."
Photo: Clint Spaulding/PatrickMcMullan.com
Jennifer Rubell's exhibition-cum-event catering for the 2010 Brooklyn Ball also included unmarked paint tubes filled with dips like orange-chipotle mayonnaise, which guests could spread on potato chips. The piece was a nod to artist Paul McCarthy's "Painter" piece.
Photo: Alison Whittington for BizBash
In December 2012, the Andy Warhol Museum and KIWI Arts Group launched the print portfolio "William John Kennedy: The Warhol Museum Edition," a limited-edition box set of five signed and numbered photographs of Andy Warhol. At the launch party, which took place during Art Basel Miami Beach, a chocolate sculpture of the famed artist served as decor as well as the catering.
Photo: World Red Eye
For the V.I.P. showing for the Pop Austin International Art Show on October 17, downtown restaurant Frank created a menu of hors d'oeuvres that referenced art and artists, including Andy Warhol and Banksy. The passed bites were served on trays decorated with cards to help guests identify the inspiration behind the dish. For instance, Robert Indiana's "Eat-Die" diptych was a pretzel cracker with peanut butter, banana, antelope, bacon relish, and marshmallow crema.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The cocktail at the Art Institute of Chicago's Magritte-inspired gala was dubbed the "Magritte-Ahh," a concoction made with tequila, agave, and lime-kaffir salt, and topped with cotton candy.
Photo: Cheri Eisenberg
The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong's art-inspired dishes also include one inspired by Vincent van Gogh—his sunflower still lifes and the infamous tale of when the Dutch painter cut off his own ear—that includes foie gras, chicken, and, of course, sunflowers.
Photo: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
Jennifer Rubell's art-meets-food menu for Performa's 2009 benefit in New York included seven chocolate versions of Jeff Koons's "Rabbit" sculpture made by chocolatier Jacques Torres. Guests were given hammers and invited to smash the edible work into pieces that they could then eat.
Photo: Paula Court/Performa Benefit
At the 2010 Brooklyn Ball, eight blank canvases fitted with spigots, dubbed “drinking paintings,” invited guests to pour their own cocktails and wine. The splashes made by the liquid were a subtle reference to Jackson Pollock's drip painting style.
Photo: Alison Whittington for BizBash
Chef Greg Grossman's menu for the Sanctuary Hotel's 2011 "Pop Art Pop Up" included beef, lamb, salmon, and bass plated atop different colored sauces—in imitation of Andy Warhol's monoprint style.
Photo: Sunny Norton
During Art Basel Miami Beach last year, Heineken and Saveur hosted a dinner to honor Alexander Mijares (pictured) and celebrate the work he created for the beer brand. Courses at the private, 25-person event were designed after the Miami-based artist's pieces.
Photo: Courtesy of the Workshop
The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong's art-focused menu is not only served at banquet events, but also at its Mandarin Grill & Bar restaurant and intimate eatery the Krug Room. Dubbed "Paint," the dish inspired by Jackson Pollock's abstract paintings sees guests top a plate of beef calotte with different colored sauces in pipettes. Those include the truffle (black), pepper (red), spinach (green), and potato mash (white).
Photo: Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
Takashi Murakami's style is hard to render in food—the Japanese contemporary artist is known for his intense, cartoon-like pieces that mix bright colors, pop culture, and recurring motifs. But Greg Grossman' effort for the Sanctuary Hotel's pop-up dinner series, included the chef's take on Murakami's "Flower of Joy" icon that used fennel, yuzu, mango, white chocolate, and strawberry.
Photo: Sunny Norton
Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" inspired the champagne fountains at the 2010 Brooklyn Ball.
Photo: Alison Whittington for BizBash
As a reference to Magritte's pipe painting, the Art Institute of Chicago's Woman's Board and Board of Trustees gala put trays of edible licorice pipes on the bar during the cocktail reception.
Photo: Jenny Berg/BizBash
