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.
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 Founder
Jessica Morgan, Director of Dia Art Foundation
Urs Fischer
Diane Brown and Urs Fischer in front of Fischer’s Chemical Problem (2015)
Sara Friedlander, Christie’s Vice President and Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale
Sara Friedlander
KAWS, Untitled (MBFS10) (2014)
Rob Pruitt, Love Grows Love (2015)
Juergen Teller, Lily McMenamy and Urs Fischer No.3 (2013)
Sam Falls, Untitled (Hudson, NY. Black Eyed Susans) (2014)
Ed Ruscha, Dull Roar (2015)
José Parlá, Time on Collins (2015)
Neil and Rachel Blumenthal
Oliver Clegg, Brian Donnelly aka KAWS, Michael Nevin
Bidders
All photos by Elene Damenia and Rae Wang for Art Observed
— Rae Wang
Read more:
RxArt Website[RxArt]
