Houston’s Lantern-Lit Playground Of A Record-Breaking $900,000 Night — How CAMH Pulled Off a Glamorous Dreamscape
One Well-Dressed Art Crowd Turned Fundraising Into a Spectator Sport
By Emily Potts //
Photography Jenny Antill Clifton
Five hundred glowing lanterns floated above Houston’s art crowd when Contemporary Arts Museum Houston pulled off its biggest fundraiser ever. CAMH Party, the museum’s annual benefit and art auction, raised more than $900,000 this year, making it the most lucrative event in the museum’s 78-year history.
Fittingly, the glamorous evening was filled with bidding wars, dancing and artist-packed tables.
Rebecca Johnson of Bergner & Johnson Designs transformed CAMH’s Brown Foundation Gallery into an immersive dreamscape. The glowing installation bathed the room in orange, pink and green light.
More than 300 art lovers dressed to impress in their black-tie best. Meanwhile, cocktails flowed while art collectors circled the silent and live auction lots. Co-chaired by Susie and Sanford Criner and Cece and Mack Fowler, the evening honored longtime CAMH supporters and former trustees Sissy and Denny Kempner.
A special toast celebrated the Kempners’ four-decade relationship with the museum. In turn, the leadership team generated extraordinary support that led to the record-breaking raise.
Bidding Wars and Dance Floors
As the night unfolded, the auction had attendees politely elbowing one another to get their last-minute bids counted. A highlight included a limited-edition print from Houston-based artist Francesca Fuchs, created exclusively for CAMH Party. Other auction headliners were Will Boone, Tomashi Jackson, Randy Twaddle, Nari War and Carrie Mae Weems, all artists with CAMH ties.
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Food imitates art, as they say, and City Kitchen rose to the occasion with a decadent dinner. It started with asparagus salad and truffled mascarpone before moving on to pan-seared Skuna Bay salmon. Then dessert arrived in the form of White Port-poached pear with white chocolate mousse.
Later in the night, charity auctioneer Ruth Mason Mauldin took the stage for the grand finale. She hammered down seven live auction pieces, including works created specifically for CAMH by Mel Chin and Mario Ayala. Additional featured artists included Joseph Havel, Page Kempner, Paul Kremer, Jason Moran and Reynier Leyva Novo. Kempner’s work sold for an impressive $26,000.
Afterward, DJ MAV, sponsored by Gulf Coast Entertainment, kept the vibe going throughout the night. Before long, an impromptu dance floor formed around the auction lots.
PC Seen: CAMH co-directors Ryan N. Dennis and Melissa McDonnell Luján; CAMH curators Rebecca Matalon (with husband Adam Marnie) and Patricia Restrepo; CAMH board chair Ruth Dreessen (with husband Tom Van Laan) and board president Elisa Stude Pye; Leigh and Reggie Smith; PAC Art Residency’s Paola Creixell with husband Arturo, cutting a rug on the dance floor; Mara and Erick Calderon; Chinhui and Eddie Allen, the lucky bidder on Leyva Novo’s live auction canvas; Sanford Dow; architect Lauren Rottet; gallerist Barbara Davis; Gracie and Bob Cavnar; Chris Goins-Pazda and Josh Pazda of Josh Pazda Hiram Butler gallery; Texas Gallery’s Fredericka Hunter; and Vance Muse.
Also spotted: Robert Pruitt, ahead of his upcoming CAMH solo, Penelope and Lester Marks, winners of the Nari Ward lithograph; Stephanie and Jackson Smith; Melanie Lawson and John Guess Jr.; gallerist Timi Etebu; artists LaMonté French, Tara Conley, David McGee, and Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand; art advisors Moriah Alise and Piper Faust; Jessica Phifer; Mary and Bernie Arocha; Jereann Chaney; Danielle O’Bannon; Michele Leal and George Farah; Ana Moreira Leal; Mary and Marcel Barone; gallerist Kerry Inman and Denby Auble; Katharine Barthelme Frank and Shane Frank; and Michael Mandola.
This article is part of a PaperCity media sponsorship.
Additional reporting for this story came from Catherine D. Anspon.
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