It was a night of glamour and glitz as the stars came out to celebrate the opening of the Renzo Piano designed, three-story Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA. This invitation only gala was held in a 22,000 square foot specially designed "super structure," exclusive to the event. Held on Saturday, February 9th, the star studded guest list was treated to a spectacular dinner, breathtaking art and amazing entertainment
As the guests poured in the black tie BCAM Gala, they were visually exposed to ceiling to floor white faux ultra-suede walls, which accented the room’s centerpiece – 12 light installations formed by giant cubes, also constructed of white faux ultra-suede, featuring cutting-edge iTile technology. The tables in the room were also visual masterpieces, as they highlighted floral centerpieces consisting of geometric Zen gardens.
Guests such as Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, Owen Wilson, Christina Aguilera, Edward Norton, Rita Wilson, Steve Martin, Lionel Richie, Dennis Hopper, Anjelica Huston, James Spader, Tom Ford, David Byrne, Prince Andrew, James Franco, Michael York, Eli Broad, Frank Gehry and Richard Meier, were then presented with a three-course dinner prepared by celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck.
The superbly crafted meal consisted of a trio of Wolfgang Puck Signature Salads and a main course of Roasted Waygu Chateau Briand with Short Rib-Spinach Spaetzle Hash, Broccolini, Crispy Vidalia Onions and Roasted Sweet Pepper-Tomato Fondue. The delectable meal was accompanied by Newton Vineyard wines and capped off with a special dessert created by Wolfgang Puck in honor of the BCAM opening.
Entertaining the crowd was up and coming musician William Joseph who made his dramatic entrance from the ceiling on a floating stage while performing Led Zeppelin’s "Kashmere." Later, legendary award winning musician, Lionel Richie performed a special set.
After the spectacular musical display, the BCAM building was revealed, as the center floor was illuminated in pulsing red plexi and one entire wall of the "super structure" collapsed, giving way to the main event.
Although hard to top, the highlight of the evening was the unveiling of the initial installation, which included roughly 200 works from renowned post-war artists such as John Baldessari, Richard Serra, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Cy Twombly, Ellsworth Kelly, Cindy Sherman and Roy Lichtenstein.
The artists in attendance included, John Baldessari, Mike Kelley, Eric Fischl, Damien Hirst, Kelly Ellsworth, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra and Barbara Kruger, among others.
BCAM is the centerpiece of the first phase of Transformation, LACMA’s ambitious ten-year program to expand and renovate its twenty-acre campus. BCAM’s evolving contemporary collection, coupled with the museum’s robust permanent collection of more than 100,000 works spanning the history of art and extensive free public programming, make LACMA the definitive cultural town square for the city of Los Angeles and its visitors.
The LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles and is the largest encyclopedic museum in the Western United States and the only museum of its kind to make contemporary art a principal area of activity with the opening of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM).
Having James Spader there as a guest made the whole affair complete!