AO On-Site – New York: RxArt Annual Benefit Honoring Urs Fischer at Stephan Weiss Studio, November 3rd, 2015

November 6th, 2015

Sara Friedlander, RxArt 15th Anniversary
Sara Friedlander

RxArt‘s annual benefit gala took place Tuesday night at Stephan Weiss Studios in the West Village, honoring Swiss artist Urs Fischer. The ceiling was decked out in colorful elephant mobiles designed by the artist, tying into RxArt’s mission of transforming the often sterile halls of children’s healthcare facilities and hospitals into engaging visual environments for young patients.

RxArt 15th Anniversary Party
Stephan Weiss Studios

 

The event, sponsored by Coach and featuring hors d’oeuvres by Cooking for Artists author Mina Stone, saw auction contributions by Sam Falls, KAWS, José Parlá, and Ed Ruscha, among others. KAWS’s Snoopy-referencing painting, created specially for RxArt, sold for a strong price of $220,000, led by Christie’s Sara Friedlander, but the highest bid of the evening went to Fischer’s Chemical Problem, which sold for $675,000, as the sale went on to raise more than $1 million for the organization, the highest in its history.  The funds will directly benefit upcoming projects, most notably a collaboration between Fischer, Laura Owens and Sam Falls to create site-specific works for the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Children’s Health Center in Los Angeles.

Diane Brown, RxArt 15th Anniversary
Diane Brown, RxArt Founder

Jessica Morgan, RxArt 15th Anniversary Party
Jessica Morgan, Director of Dia Art Foundation

Urs Fisher, RxArt 15th Anniversary
Urs Fischer

Diane Brown Urs Fischer, RxArt 15th Anniversary Party
Diane Brown and Urs Fischer in front of Fischer’s Chemical Problem (2015)

Sara Friedlander, RxArt 15th Anniversary
Sara Friedlander, Christie’s Vice President and Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale

Sara Friedlander, KAWS, RxArt 15th Anniversary Party
Sara Friedlander

KAWS, Untitled (MBFS10), 2014
KAWS, Untitled (MBFS10) (2014)

Rob Pruitt, Love Grows Love
Rob Pruitt, Love Grows Love (2015)

Juergen-Teller
Juergen Teller, Lily McMenamy and Urs Fischer No.3 (2013)

Sam-Falls
Sam Falls, Untitled (Hudson, NY. Black Eyed Susans) (2014)

Ed-Ruscha
Ed Ruscha, Dull Roar (2015)

Installation, RxArt 15th Anniversary
José Parlá, Time on Collins (2015)

RxArt 15th Anniversary Party

RxArt 15th Anniversary Party
Neil and Rachel Blumenthal

Oliver Clegg, Brian Donnelly aka KAWS, Michael Nevin, 15th RxArt Anniversary
Oliver Clegg, Brian Donnelly aka KAWS, Michael Nevin

RxArt 15th Anniversary Party
Bidders

RxArt 15th Anniversary Party

RxArt 15th Anniversary Party

All photos by Elene Damenia and Rae Wang for Art Observed

— Rae Wang

 

Read more:
RxArt Website[RxArt]