Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1033442
26 TEXAS ARTISTS LA TABLE MATTHEW RAMIREZ CONTEMPLATES THE BIDDING. PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS P. BACHMAN. I n an evening worthy of an authoritative art book, La Table restaurant on Post Oak Boulevard was host and underwriter for a private fund-raiser benefit- ting Volume Two of PaperCity editor Catherine D. Anspon's exhaustive arts survey, Texas Artists Today. The high-energy Texas Art Auction bash, co-chaired by Rania Daniel and Dina Alsowayel, divvied up money raised via live and silent auctions, with half going to contributing artists and the other half toward the upcoming book (anticipated publication date 2020), which benefits Art League Houston. Emceed by collector and patron Craig Massey (who also served as auctioneer) and Anspon, the party with purpose featured a performance by musician/artist Lisa E. Harris and percussionist Abel Cisneros. The night's biggest haul came from Suzanne Lopez, who snapped up a canvas by Angelbert Metoyer via phone bid from New York City. Other fast bidders included Duyen and Marc Nguyen, co-chairs of this month's Art League Gala, who took home a Howard Sherman painting (Sherman himself dropped in from NYC); Zhenia and Christopher Van Riet, who acquired a towering McKay Otto abstraction; Poppi Massey, phone-bidding from Boston on a beaded collage by Selven O'Keef Jarmon; and Massey and his wife, Tatiana Massey, who claimed the Bert Long Jr. assemblage (a masterwork from the late artist's estate), as well as a painting by artist Wayne Gilbert. Save the date: Art League Houston's 70th Anniversary Gala is Friday, October 12, at Hotel ZaZa. SOCIAL CANVAS: Art League executive director Jennie Ash; Tony Chase (acquir- ing the Brian Portman painting); Sotheby's Aliyya Stude (high bidder for the Forrest Prince work); gallerists Deborah Colton, Barbara Davis, Anya Tish, Laura Rathe (who won the Joe Mancuso in brisk bidding), Gus Kopriva, Betty Moody, Lee Pineda, and Devin Borden; attorney/court of appeals candidate Margaret Poissant; the book's photographers, James Bland and Philip Rogers; artists Sharon Kopriva, Neva Mikulicz, William Cannings, Sharon Engelstein and Aaron Parazette, Allison Hunter, Tara Conley, and Susan Plum; as well as Artnews 200 Top Collector Lester Marks, Sarah Bray with mom Susan Bray, Sima and Omar Sawaf, Lutfi Rukab, Kari Gonzales with mom Linda Canas, and Charlie McRae and Alex Elrod with Texas whiskey Balcones, the eve's liquor sponsor. Up For Bid at AN AUCTION KICKS OFF THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED VOLUME TWO OF TEXAS ARTISTS TODAY. Sarah Bray Co-chairs Dina Alsowayel Rania Daniel Alex Elrod Barbara Davis Laura Rathe, Catherine D. Anspon, Deborah Colton Curry Glassell, Weihong Sandy Dow Thedra Cullar-Ledford Wayne Gilbert Christy Karll McWhorter, Tatiana Massey Irina Litvak Jennie Ash Angelbert Metoyer Selven O'Keef Jarmon, Margaret Poissant Craig Massey Annabel Massey Kari Gonzales Marc & Duyen Nguyen Anya & Mark Tish Zhenia Van Riet