Beloved Houston Art School Gala Takes Advantage of New Museum Building With a Mind-Bending Trek

Through the decades, the Glassell School of Art spring gala and art auction has enjoyed several manifestations. Buffet dinners in the Cullen Sculpture Garden. Dinner and dancing in a party tent. Torrential downpours and heat waves. The 2021 gala supporting the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s school of art was happily unaffected by the weather or by the expense of a $50,000 party tent.

The casual evening began in the Steven Holl-designed art school and segued for the first time into the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, centerpiece of the museum’s Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus.

More than 300 guests arrived at the uber modern school for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and perusal of artwork by Glassell School students and faculty with bidding beginning as low as $300 and reaching beyond $8,000 for faculty works. Thanks in part to popularity of these artworks and a selection of 12 x 12 works on display for purchase in the Kinder building, the event surpassed its $400,000 goal and reached proceeds of $443,000.

It was a mind-bending trek from the Glassell School to the Kinder through the Olafur Eliasson tunnel installation titled “Sometimes an underground movement is an illuminated bridge.” The stimulating yellow lighting in the tunnel visually washes away all color so that everything appears in black and white. Reality returns as visitors emerge into the Kinder lobby.

The yellow color theme, however, continued thanks to The Events Company, which dressed tables in flourishes of yellow flowers. City Kitchen provided an international buffet fare that included Asian-inspired dishes and a Street Taco station that offered typical Tex-Mex fare.

The evening was something of a triple header as following dinner, guests were invited to move over to the Caroline Wiess Law Building to delve into the wildly popular SunForceOceanLife immersive experience by Ernesto Neto. There was dancing to the sounds of DJ on the lower level of the Kinder where African artist El Anatsui’s massive Visitation provided a glittering backdrop.

Among Glassell School executive committee members in the mix serving as hosts were Alfred Glassell III, Claire Ankenman, Brad Bucher, Jereann Chaney and Geraldina Wise.

PC Seen: MFAH director Gary Tinterow and Christopher Gardner, Glassell director Joe Havel, Marli Glassell, Elizabeth Galtney, Julie Alexander, George Dodd, Robin and Alex Brennan Martin, Kathy and Marty Goossen, Lea Tcholakian, Hope Gonsoulin , Claire Blanton, and Julia and Jason McLaurin.