Into the Woods with Isabella Rossellini, Peter Marino, and More at the Annual Watermill Center Benefit
Into the Woods with Isabella Rossellini, Peter Marino, and More at the Annual Watermill Center Benefit
With $1.7 million raised and over 1,000 attendees, Saturday night’s 26th annual Watermill Center Benefit, sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels, proved that the niche art the center has championed since opening in 1992 has wide appeal.
The evening began with cocktails at sunset in the center’s surrounding woodlands, where a selection of performance pieces took place. In one corner, couples were rolled up in cellophane in a piece entitled “It’s All in Your Head” by Humberto Diaz; in another corner, an untitled work by John Margaritas and New York Sunshine saw two young women—one dressed as Dorothy, the other as The Tin Man—circling a rotating bouquet of rusty basketball hoops for the duration of the two-hour cocktail portion of the evening.
These were just a small sampling of what guests like architect Peter Marino and gallerist Bill Powers could take in (albeit with raised eyebrows) while sauntering through the woods, drinks in hand.
“I’m a friend of [Watermill Center Artistic Director] Bob Wilson, and I’ve watched this place grow, but the gala has become immense,” Isabella Rossellini, wearing a custom made Dolce & Gabbana robe, told Vogue as she admired the scene in the center’s courtyard, where eight murals created by Lance de Los Reyes had been erected. “I live not far from here, so in the winter, when there’s nothing around and its cold, it’s a good place to come and fill your heart.”
As guests made their way into dinner, they were greeted by a troupe of mimes and a performance by Bianca Casady of CocoRosie, which eventually gave way to an auction led by Simon de Pury, as well as two special recognitions; one for philanthropist Katharine Rayner and another for Carrie Mae Weems.
When it came time to accept her award, Weems gave a powerful acceptance speech that brought the room to its feet with thunderous applause—among them, a crop of young artists like Sarah Coleman, Lucien Smith, Julia and Emma Blanchard, and Yung Jake. “My life has been anchored in this extraordinary way in which artists offer the gift of their souls to bear with us,” she said before Helga Davis closed the evening with a rousing rendition of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.” “And they do this so that we might understand something about our lives a little bit more deeply, a little bit more complexly.”
Originally Appeared on Vogue
