Held every year during Art Basel, the Masters' Mystery Art Show brought 400 guests to the upper lobby area of the Ritz Carlton, South Beach to peruse a unique art installation composed of more than 3,000 works of art made by local luminaries and artists. The 6- by 9-inch postcard-style pieces were sold for $50 apiece and proceeds benefited the Florida International University Fine Arts program. What is the mystery part of this event? The artists' identities weren't divulged until guests after purchase the artwork.
Mary O'Donnell, the Ritz's director of meetings and special events, and its general manager John Rolfs collaborated with Martin Elortegui of Lionstone Development and Daniel Vinoly and Natasha Duwin from the university to add new twists to this year's event. One twist was a celebrity auction featuring the designs of the rich and famous, namely, Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, Roberto Cavalli, Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia, Whoopi Goldberg, and others.
The invitation was equally artsy, thanks to graphic designer Carla Loenstein, who turned typical bi-fold cardstock into a mini file folder meant to resemble a top secret FBI case file.
Instead of mystery meat, the hotel's catering team prepared items such as tuna sushi on crispy rice and apricot barbeque chicken brochette, which were butler passed. One waiter passed steak tartar cones not on a tray but on a painter's palette, using a paintbrush to dab each cone with sauce. A ceviche station offered grouper with Key lime, mango, and red onion; scallop pineapple mojito; and salmon sambal.
—Vanessa Goyanes
Mary O'Donnell, the Ritz's director of meetings and special events, and its general manager John Rolfs collaborated with Martin Elortegui of Lionstone Development and Daniel Vinoly and Natasha Duwin from the university to add new twists to this year's event. One twist was a celebrity auction featuring the designs of the rich and famous, namely, Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, Roberto Cavalli, Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia, Whoopi Goldberg, and others.
The invitation was equally artsy, thanks to graphic designer Carla Loenstein, who turned typical bi-fold cardstock into a mini file folder meant to resemble a top secret FBI case file.
Instead of mystery meat, the hotel's catering team prepared items such as tuna sushi on crispy rice and apricot barbeque chicken brochette, which were butler passed. One waiter passed steak tartar cones not on a tray but on a painter's palette, using a paintbrush to dab each cone with sauce. A ceviche station offered grouper with Key lime, mango, and red onion; scallop pineapple mojito; and salmon sambal.
—Vanessa Goyanes
One waiter passed steak tartar cones not on a tray but on a painter's palette, using a paintbrush to dab each cone with sauce.
Guests en masse attended the show held in the upper lobby of the Ritz Carlton.
More than 3,000 artists submitted 6- by 9-inch pieces of artwork.
The Ritz's chefs prepared fresh ceviche for the event.
Graphic designer Carla Loenstein made the invitation look like a mini FBI case file.
