Haute Art Event: Janna Bullock’s Allegories & Experiences

Thursday evening, February 23, a partially renovated Beaux Arts mansion with a posh shell, steps away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New york City, was swarming with art collectors, political and intellectual cognescenti as Janna Bullock introduced her first solo art installation, Allegories & Experiences.

Bullock’s installation consists of 24 found images, each of an individual or group from the Russian power elite: politicians, businessmen, lawyers and journalists. Some are tyrants, some are criminals, and some are victims. The 24 images represent 24 frames per second—the standard in motion picture film speed; hence the underlying visual of film in the exhibition’s aesthetic. In the manner of Richard Prince, Jenny Holzer and Ilya Kabakov, each image is accompanied by a provocative title and a story in both English and Russian, written by Bullock.

Leading art world notables came out in full force to support Bullock’s bold creation including Vanity Fair photographer Jonathan Becker, Karen LeFrak, Paul and Alice Judelson, Kim Heirston Evans, Anthony Freund, Hunt Slonem, renowned interior designer Robert Couturier, Sharon Handler Loeb, CeCe Cord, Geoffrey Bradfield, Sharon Bush, Zang Toi, Janis Gardner and Charles Cecil, Ruth Vered and Janet Lehr, Lisa Simonsen and Patrick McMullan who captured the entire evening on film

The diverse crowd and contrasting setting kicked off the two month show with an astounding combination of art, glamour, and political commentary. Allegories & Experiences will occupy the first two floors of a Beaux Arts mansion at 14 East 82nd Street, between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. The exhibition will be on view Wednesdays—Sundays, 11:00 A.M.—6:00 P.M., February 23—May 1 (the only Tuesday the gallery will be open).

The politically charged and aesthetically stunning exhibition also drew in a number of New York’s most prominent players, including Karen Klopp, Barbara de Portago, Alison Mazzola, Jamie Figg, Bettina and Donna Zilkha, Liliana Cavendish, Anthony Haden-Guest, Christopher Mason, Christine Schott, Cece Cord, R. Couri Hay, Maggie Norris, Margo Langenberg, Alexis Clark, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Jullian James, Matt Sandy and Medea Vodka’s Tim Goldburt, Elaine Sargent, Cassandra Seidenfeld, Nancy Silberkleit, Dr. Robert Grant, Deepti Kapur, Robin Cofer, Dominick D’Alleva, Leesa Rowland, Larry Wohl, Amy Hoadley with Mark Gilbertson, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Yaz Hernandez,  Suzanne Murphy, Stuart Sundlun, Chris Meigher, and Jean Shafiroff. Bullock was also joined by her beaming daughters, Eugenia Bullock and Zoe Remmel, with husband Towson Remmel.

Exhibition continues through April 2012. For more information, go to allegoriesandexperiences.com