To celebrate Spanish artist Jaime Hayón's newest installation, introduce the latest clothing trends of the Moschino Spring 2007 Collections, and partake in a silent auction to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach housed an event hosted by Chowaiki/Mosionzhnik Art Gallery.Hayón's eight ceramic and enamel sculptures were completed in just under three years, from late 2002 to 2006, in five different colors—two in yellow, two in pink, two in blue, one in black, and one in white—using a lot of preliminary drafts, Web graphics, and digital imaging along the way. With his pieces representing everything from an octopus to a forest, and based on the architecture of Egyptian tombs, the turquoise-clad Hayón boasted "I was trying to bring life to a very natural world, one that I created through my art, while also trying to bring life to the breast cancer cause because I like helping out as often as possible." Bidding for the statues began at $12,000 apiece.
One of the statues' preliminary drafts, this one done as an art piece on a blank canvas and later named Weaponry, featured a darker natural scene of a cactus-spitting creature putting a pistol to its head. To give attendees who could not afford a five-figure sculpture bid a reason to come to the event, this draft was raffled off for free at the end of the night.
As if to offset the artsy focus, this event also included a mid-evening fashion show, which featured three models standing atop lit white cubes branded with the logos of both sponsors, the Moschino fashion design agency and Elle magazine. There was also an all-female synchronized swimming performance in the venue's pool.
The event also featured a very SoBe-specific playlist and various cold selections to munch on. Located at a six-foot, white-draped table to the pool's north side, Dee Jay Smeejay cranked out the perfect blend of popular English and Spanish artists, ranging from Celia Cruz and the Gipsy Kings to Will Smith and Madonna. He occasionally threw in some techno beats or jazz renditions to spice things up. The food, which was butler-passed and also provided by the Ritz-Carlton, consisted of caprese brochette; soy paper vegetable roll with mango sambal; proscuitto and arugula grissini with tomato pesto; steak tartare cones with pickled ginger and horseradish; mojito ceviche; and lobster rolls with preserved lemon wasabi.
The venue also took care of the greenery and the furniture, preparing a barrier of trees with the help of supplier Botanical Designs and scattering white florals throughout its patio. Some extra furniture—eight high tops with linens and eight scattered cocktail rounds with white folding chairs—was set up in preparation for the guests. Two additional six-foot tables were erected, one on the pool's right side for registration and one on the pool's left side for Susan B. Komen to distribute breast cancer information.
—Albert del Toral
The starting bid was $12,000 on each of these monumental Jaime Hay?n sculptures, the grand majority of which was later donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Bringing fashion into the mix, models posed atop branded cube-shaped blocks to display the Moschino Spring 2007 Collections.
Raffled off at the end of the night, this dark Jaime Hay?n art piece entitled Weaponry was actually a prequel to the sculptures and features a cactus-spitting creature as its focal point.
Mid-event, an all-female troupe of synchronized swimmers entertained the crowd from the confines of the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach pool.
This caprese brochette was one of the six prepared by the Ritz Carlton.
