While there are many philanthropic young professional organizations in San Francisco, ArtPoint is by the far the coolest. ArtPoint supports the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the de Young and the Legion of Honor, by hosting educational events and social programing. When the de Young exhibited masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, ArtPoint’s smart and funny chair, Joshua Reynolds, invited members to a scotch tasting event. PYTs and handsome gentlemen mingled while checking out the artwork and tasting Macallans. ArtPoint’s not all about parties though, special talks and interviews take place throughout the year. “We just had Julian Cox, who was the curator for the Danny Lyon‘s show, do an hour long interview with Darcy Padilla, who’s another photojournalist,” Reynolds told Haute Living recently over the phone. “They talked about her work and how it related to Lyon’s work. It was one of the most powerful experiences that we have on our program.” However, the most-hyped ArtPoint event is its upcoming annual gala.
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer
On Saturday, February 11, 2017, the group will host Frank Stella, It’s Complicated. . .ArtPoint Valentine’s Gala. “I really like our theme this year,” Reynolds says. “I’m really proud of that, because I think people can really relate to it. Stella’s work is really complicated and we are having a Valentine’s Day gala. What should we do as the theme? It was obvious. Love and relationships are pretty much as complicated as Stella’s artwork.” Guests will be able to walk the Stella exhibit at the de Young museum while partaking in a festive over-the-top party. Event chair Liz Curtis, the founder of tablecapse rental company Table + Teaspoon, says “it’s going to be really amazing! The new director of the Fine Art Museums, Max Hollein has given us free reign to make it as fun and provocative as possible. Think 1,000 people, oyster, chocolate, and tequila tastings, 10-foot tall gummy bears, fortune tellers, tarot card readers, burlesque shows, and more!” This is the first time ever that a national musician will perform at the event. “One of the things that’s really new is we are actually getting national talent instead of just a local group,” Reynolds explains. “Her name is Tennessee Thomas and she’s out of New York. She has some really, really cool songs and she’s going to be, I think, a really different type of vibe.”
Another aspect of the event that makes it unique? The fashion. According to ArtPoint’s website, the dress code is “complex black tie for men and avant-garde cocktail for women. Surprise us, we dare you.” What exactly does that mean? Patricia Ivancich Dassios, an ArtPoint board member and founder of fashion-forward beauty brand La Mienne, explains it like this: “We want our guests to interpret the exhibition and the featured artist’s work into an expression of themselves. We appreciate experimentation and innovation. Next week’s gala celebrates Frank Stella’s abstract modernist approach to art and culture, testing artistic conventions. Hence we want all our guests to have their own artistic view of what inspires them fashion-wise.” To Dassios this means wearing a 3D-printed dress by Maje. “The fabric has been developed by newer technologies which has pushed the boundaries of fashion just as Frank Stella has pushed modern creative expression,” she says. The evening promises to be one unforgettable and not to be missed gala.
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