Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1188752
90 CREATIVE CLASS CATHERINE D. ANSPON GOES ON THE BEAT. PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS P. BACHMAN. O ne night, two art and design destinations. The first boasted a personal appearance by one of the last living Pop kings. Kenny Scharf — the talent who tagged before Basquiat and palled around with Warhol — inaugurated the ambitious citywide Peanuts Global Artist Collective project with his own Snoopy-wrapped NASA capsule at Space Center Houston. For the occasion, 4411 Montrose with David Shelton Gallery hosted a meet-and-greet with the artist and Houston Arts Alliance supporters. Scharf, wearing a vintage NASA tee, divulged details of his lifelong obsession with the space program, which crescendoed with this public-art endeavor brought here by HAA. Galactic guests: HAA CEO John Abodeely and board chair Leigh Smith; Phoebe Tudor; collectors Reggie Smith, Jereann Chaney, Lester Marks, and Judy Nyquist; Houston Parks Board's Beth White, Nicole Romano, and Andrew Newman; C.C. Conner; Taylor O'Maley and Ashley Norman of Brookfield Properties; and Abodeely's husband, Ed Kachinske, in from D.C. Next stop was international furnishings powerhouse BeDesign for Italian Night: An Encounter with Art and Design. Co-owners Adrián Dueñas and Marcelo Saenz created a beautiful, layered evening whose touchstone was all things Italian: the presence of Consul General Federico Ciattaglia; headlining artists Nicola Parente, Sara Ferrara, Joelma Regis, Maria Luisa Onorati, and Silvia Majocchi; and the elegant Italian home-furnishing collections B&B Italia, Fendi Casa, Paola Lenti, Flexform, Molteni&C, Zanotta, and Lema. All elements combined for una notte molto bene. DESIGN DISCIPLES: BBVA Compass president and CEO Javier Rodriguez Soler, Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl, artist Justin Garcia, Christina Truong, Danilo Pace, Katie and Rodolfo Pace, Cristina Gilberti, Sofia Gambara and Pepe Olalla, Traci Ling, Karen Lix, Stefanie and Manolo Elias, Tiziana and Fabio Triolo, Stefano Sdringola-Maranga, and designer Nina Magon. TOASTING NASA + SNOOPY + ITALIAN NIGHT AT BeDESIGN Rodolfo & Katie Pace Danilo Pace at BeDesign David Shelton, Matt Johns at Scharf Molly Glentzer C.C. Conner at Scharf Traci Ling, Christina Truong at BeDesign Michele Leal at Scharf Judy Nyquist Nicole Romano at Scharf Fabio & Tiziana Triolo at BeDesign Justin Garcia, Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl Adrián Dueñas, Jin Lee at BeDesign John Abodeely, Taylor O'Maley Ashley Norman, Ed Kachinske at Scharf Karen Lix, Stefanie & Manolo Elias Jessica Hatch, Marcelo Saenz at BeDesign Isabella Littlejohn, Sam Smith, Leigh Smith Kenny Scharf, Reggie Smith at Scharf Abigail Diaz at Scharf Cristina Gilberti at BeDesign