City Art

Avant-garde installations capturing the structure and color of New York City decorated the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s fourth annual Downtown Dinner last night. Some 650 art patrons filled the 52nd floor of 7 World Trade Center, where the bird’s-eye view of the city accentuated the Manhattan-inspired exhibits.

A former participant in the council's residency program, McKendree Key, created a hanging grid made of yellow mason twine that covered the expanse of the dining area. The display played on the city’s symmetrical design, with horizontal strings spaced five feet apart met by intersecting vertical lines. Adjacent to this, Katie Holten, another program alum, showcased “Old News,” a composition of papier-mâché tree trunks seemingly rooted in the floor’s concrete, reminiscent of city sidewalks. And across the room stood current resident Mary Mattingly’s “Kart,” a winged bicycle stacked with an endless stream of packages that literally hit the ceiling.

The nonprofit's director of development, Elaine Bowen, and its marketing and communications manager, Savannah Gorton, combed through dozens of artists’ portfolios before the three artists were chosen. And inspired by the color palette of yellow and gray in the invitation for the event, the team looked to work it into the decor. Bowen hired producer Bruce Rayvid of Bruce Rayvid Projects—who suggested playing up McKendree’s piece with an overall theme of connectivity—to execute the vision with help from designer Susan Holland.The yellow string grid not only served as an eye-catching centerpiece, but also complemented the color palette of the overall decor. Under the display, unadorned gray chairs enclosed square and circular dining tables, dressed with lemon-colored fabric. Opposite this area, square white sofas sat in the cocktail quarter, where several drink posts stood topped with trays of vodka and thyme concoctions. Creative Edge served guests the tangy cocktails, a specialty drink from sponsor Tito’s Handmade Vodka, along with an assortment of hors d’oeuvres.

For entertainment, the Guerilla Dance Team, a troupe dressed like partygoers, surprised the audience when they broke into a routine in the middle of the crowd. And performance artists group Tryst provided guests with binoculars to point out their homes in the distance. Once the locales were approximated, the artists wrote the residents’ name and address on luggage tags, then taped them to the windows. Vintage DJ spun an eclectic mix of ‘60s hits, followed by a performance by violinist Lorenzo Laroc shortly before dinner.

Kathleen Turner, Edie Falco, and Michael Imperioli introduced some of this year’s honorees, including mayor Michael Bloomberg, deputy mayor Patricia E. Harris, playwright Edward Albee, and artist Kiki Smith.

Throughout the night, notable cultural enthusiasts (including Chiara Clemente and Massimiliano Gioni) joined other patrons in reviewing the 218 postcards sold by the council. Set at $250 each, the postcards provided by 140 artists were the only exhibits on the wall, an intentional decision on the part of the event team.

“Whereas last year everything was on the walls, art this year happens all around you. Rather than you seeing it at a distance, we wanted it to happen to you. So we did things that make you look at space differently," Rayvid said. "So that you’re involved in the art and realize that your life is artful if you perceive it that way.”