SALUTING SCHNABEL: During the two-year, $30 million renovation of East Hampton’s Guild Hall, the fabrics were torn off the walls of the Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater — and Julian Schnabel seized the opportunity.
“I recovered 9 by 14 feet of material from the wall. We’ll see what happens with it,” said Schnabel. It’s destined to be incorporated into another one of his contemporary art pieces.
Schnabel was honored at Guild Hall‘s annual summer gala fundraiser last weekend, which celebrated the opening of the artist’s exhibition there, “Julian Schnabel: Selected Works from Home” a mix of paintings, drawings and sculptures from his personal collection — 45 years of works he keeps for himself and lives among.
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The program included a performance of an original poetic composition for Schnabel by multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, who happens to be his neighbor on Long Island’s East End. When life gets too crazy for him, Schnabel said, “I go across the street to Laurie’s and re-ignite.”
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Also during the event, a short documentary on Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan was screened, the 350 guests previewed Schnabel’s exhibit, and dinner and dancing followed. For many, it was the first time seeing the cultural hub’s theater, the three gallery spaces, outdoor areas and entrances were modernized.
VIPs attending included Guild Hall executive director Andrea Grover; Peter Marino; Bob Colacello; gallerist Vito Schnabel and Helena Althof; artists Alice Aycock, Ross Bleckner, Brian Hunt, Joel Perlman, Ralph Gibson and Robert Longo; film director Sophie Chahinian and costume designer Mary Jane Marcasiano; Milly and Arne Glimcher; Stefano Tonchi, Sandy Brant and Barbara Tober.
Through a raising of hands, $140,000 was raised during dinner, making the total contributions for the evening $950,000 to support Guild Hall.
Coinciding with Schnabel’s exhibit, which runs through Oct. 27, the publisher Taschen is taking a section of the Guild Hall’s museum space for pop-up shop featuring several Schnabel x Taschen projects, including an exclusive collection of hand-painted skateboards by the artist, available to U.S. collectors for the first time. The pop-up will also showcase limited edition book projects with contemporaries such as Annie Leibovitz and David Hockney, alongside a curated selection of Taschen’s most celebrated art books, including “Jean-Michel Basquiat, New York. Portrait of a City.”